Pretend: Revisited
by puffdadder
Summary: Dying to obliterate the threat of an abyssal one, two parents order to have a portion of it surgically implanted into their newborn. His name is Naruto. Warnings: graphic violence, and language.
1. Chapter 1

Pretend

"Words"

"**Yoma Speak"**

Re-Posted: 04/16/2013

* * *

"Pocket full of posies! Ashes! Ashes! We all fall _down_!" Smiling children collapsed to the street into giggling piles.

A pair of silvery-blue eyes stared from an alley at the spectacle with childish wonder. The eight year old boy stepped from the alley and immediately covered his sensitive milky blue eyes. The now resting children looked at the new comer with curiosity.

The boy had bone-blonde hair, a taller than average stature, and three grooves on each side of his face, running from his cheeks to throat. The lines formed six strange lines, much like a caricature of whiskers.

The young boy smiled, flashing his pearly whites with some embarrassment. One child stood up and started leaving. The blonde haired boy could almost feel his heart get uncomfortably heavy.

Another asked the deserter, "Hey! Where ya goin', Minato?"

The boy replied, "Meh' ma' said I can't hang out with Uzumaki. O'erwise I'll get in trouble."

A chestnut-haired girl interrupted his statement. " 'Nato's a _chicken_!"

He spluttered petulantly, "Am _not_! I don' wanna get in trouble."

The girl smiled mischievously. "Bock, bock, _bock_!"

"It's not like I _wan'_ ta go!" the boy whined while digging a foot into the dirt. "Mum was sayin' he was dangerous." Some of the other children nodded, remembering that their parents said something similar as well.

The said Uzumaki scratched behind his head nervously and interceded with a strained smile, "I-it's all right. I don't want ta' get anyone in t-trouble. I'll go."

Minato's face softened. " 'M sorry, _I_ don't think you're bad. But I really don' wan' ta' get inta' trouble." Most of the children agreed with him and stood up to follow Minato. The girl stayed in place and gave a childish glare to the other kids.

Naruto felt like crying. What did he ever do to earn the parents' ire, how many times did this scene happ-?

The brown haired girl chirped. "Sorry about them, they're just scare-dy cats over _nuthin'_. My name's Isabelle Browne! Would you like to be my friend?"

Naruto was caught off guard. This was the first time ever someone _ever,_ stuck up for him _and_ offered to not just _play_, but be a friend! He didn't trust his throat to enunciate and instead nodded his head rapidly, giving something along the lines of a grunt.

"Un!"

"Great! What's your name?"

He swallowed thickly to clear his throat, "Naruto! Naruto Uzumaki!"

"Well Naruto, have you ever played tag before?"

The blonde shook his head back and forth rapidly, twisting his spiky hair in the windless day. The excitement was nigh tangible on his face and in his eyes.

Isabelle chirped, "Do you know how to?"

Naruto nodded just as rapidly. "Un!"

She tapped his arm and ran, "Good! Then tag-"

* * *

"-You're it!"

The nine year old Naruto giggled with excitement. His _eleven_ and a _half_ year old, best friend Isabelle was now chasing _him_! It was the first time he beat her at her own game!

Isabelle was trying in vain to catch up to the aptly named maelstrom, "Hey! Stand still so I can tag ya'!"

Naruto called behind himself, "Ya' have to catch me first!"

A couple hours had already past, and it was only a matter of minutes before both were lying down and heaving in massive gulps of air.

She gasped, "How the heck did you get that fast?" Another intake of air interrupted her musing, "And your stamina. Dear Lord! How can you still _move_?"

Naruto paused and thought about it, "I'unno'. I asked Jiji and the matron, an' they said it's normal for me ta' be different. They said I could be anythin' I wanted if it continued on like this! Even a blacksmith!" the silvery blonde looked upwards and pondered on what he could become.

Isabelle smiled for her excited friend. "That's good!" Her smile dropped off of her face and rewound what he'd said.

"Yeah! And then I'll be the town head an' be respected by everyone!"

She giggled against her volition but remembered what she was mulling over. "Hey, why do they say it's normal for you to be different?"

Naruto tilted his head and mustered as much seriousness as a nine year old could. "I dunno, they just _did_…"

And suddenly it hit Isabelle sideways. She understood _why_ he was so different after all these years. His incredible stamina. The unbelievable strength, his rare ivory-blonde hair and shiny yet monochromatic-blue eyes. Everything now added up and she couldn't believe she hadn't thought of this earlier.

Isabelle jumped up and pointed at his prone form. "You're an angel!"

Naruto looked away as he blushed. "Wha?"

She held a finger up, "Hear me out. Every time we go to church we hear about guardian angels and stuff. The angels have _blonde_ hair, _blue_ eyes and they're really strong! You _must_ be an angel!"

Naruto's face was burning red. "But, why would everyone keep their distance from me?"

Isabelle stopped for a moment. That was a very good questi-, of course! "Cause they don't want to taint you and upset God!" She nodded at her brilliance.

Naruto looked horrified. "But they wouldn't _taint_ me, 'asides, I don't have wings!" The brown haired girl's head snapped towards him.

"Maybe they're small! Like one of those sarah-fins, or you could even be an angel in training." She held an index finger to her pouting lips when the proverbial light bulb clicked. "Lemme' see your back!"

The blonde paled considerably. "But Jiji said it's a _private_ part, I can't show you my _back_!"

His friend quirked her head to the side. "Not your _bottom_, your _back_. Like between your shoulders an' stuff."

"I _know_ and jiji said that was a private part. He said to wear a shirt if I went swimming."

"But my mom says that it's okay for my back to show, just not my chest."

"Maybe it's different for boys than it is girls…"

Isabelle pointed a finger back at him. "Aha! You _must_ have wings there."

"But-!"

"Any other boy can show their backs just fine." Her brown eyes grew watery and her guilt-trip voice was already in play. "And…we've been friends for _such_ a long time Naruto, you can at least let me _look_."

Naruto rolled his eyes and felt vaguely guilty. And extremely nervous as well, "Fine." He whined. "You can look." He sat down on the grass while Isabelle yelled in triumph.

She threw up his shirt and immediately gasped.

Naruto was worried, curse his phobia. _'Please don't be a snake'_. "What is it?"

"I think you _are_ an angel. It looks like wings are tryin' to break out your skin."

"Can you dexcry, descrime," he sighed, "tell me about it?"

"Well, it smells funny. Ah! You know how raw meat smells?" Naruto nodded. "Kinda, like that but a little stronger. An' then the between your arms is a different color. Green like. I'ss also bumpy! Like wings are tryin' ta' get out but your skin is in the way."

Naruto knew one thing for certain. "It sounds gross."

Isabelle exclaimed happily. "It is! But it's kinda cool!" She placed her small hand on the greenish colored skin. As soon as she did so, Naruto gasped and writhed in his seat.

"Are you okay?" His friend asked tentatively.

Naruto nodded jerkily. "Yeah, it just feels _funny_." Unknowingly she started making circles on the patch of skin. Naruto shuddered in…something. "I dunno, my lower stomach feels like it's warm and movin'. Like when you're sick, but this feels okay, plus the movin' seems more off to the sides." Why was he getting angrier?

Her fingers trailed off the skin and onto the border between the pink skin and the green one. Naruto threw his head back with a guttural growl, while saliva went arcing forward. He snapped his eyes open, and he dashed away from Isabelle.

"Wassa' matter?" She asked.

Naruto's pupils were extremely dilated, his iris seemed to be just a thin line of…silver? His breathing was erratic.

"Are you okay?"

He nodded shakily, his mouth felt dry and sticky. He spoke with a hint of disappointment or perhaps frustration. With what he didn't know… "Yeah, it just felt weird…I couldn't even think!"

She asked worriedly, "Did it hurt?"

"No! Er, _no_, it didn't." He didn't want to hurt her feelings. Though it was a different kind of pain. One that hurt his head... "I just _like_ thinking, and it didn't feel like I _could_."

Isabelle's expression was filled with half lidded sarcasm. "_You _like to _think_?"

Naruto glared at her, good naturedly of course. It also helped suppress the odd feelings, "_Yes_, and if _you_ think so well, why didn't you think I was an angel sooner, hmm?"

His smug voice grated on her nerves. Her eyes narrowed as she spoke in a low, menacing tone. "This. Means-."

* * *

"War."

"Dammit! This is the twentieth hand in a _row_!"

Naruto upturned his nose and wagged his finger. "Hey no cursing in front of an impressionable child. You're sixteen years old now, you should know better." They picked each other up, swiped the cards off the ground, and started walking towards the town.

"Yeah, well when you always get trumped by _one_, we'll see how you take it…"

Naruto smirked as he almost skipped down the sidewalk, "I already know the answer to that."

Isabelle paused in her gait to glare at him. "Oh?"

"Like a whiny little bitch, of course."

She turned her head to the side, continued walking, and huffed, "Hmph, at least you're honest."

Naruto's eyes squinted happily, "Good thing that'll _never_ happen."

Isabelle returned her icy glare upon him, but avoided the answer. "Hey wait a minute, you cursed and you're complaining about _me_?"

He was always a quick one. The blonde boy fake-sniffled, his blue eyes enlarged and he became the avatar of demure purity, "But matron, I just heard my buh-best-est friend say it. I thought it was an adja'tive, that's all. I had _no_ idea it was so _unholy_."

Isabelle's jaw tightened. "One day your luck will fall out on ya' and we'll see how well you do then. Prick."

His eyes went wider and became watery, evidently trying to hold back from showing his severe and untold amounts of emotional pain. "But _Isabelle_, you already know what would happen once my luck runs out." Isabelle lifted an elegant eye-brow expecting his earlier statement. "I'd blame any problem on ya!"

She glared harder, before her lip upturned slightly. Then her lips broke into a grin and began laughing. Naruto joined her shortly thereafter as they lightly pushed each other.

"Man is it good to see you again! It's been _months_! Where in the ninth inner ring of _hell_ have you _been_?"

Naruto's grin was still in place. "Well I haven't been up to much to be honest. You?"

Her smile became strained. "Same."

He practically glared in her direction, "Is it your mom again?" Her silence was deafening. He looked forward and growled at nothing in particular.

Isabelle's smile returned and she patted his head. "It's all right."

He looked at her with the utmost seriousness, his blue eyes lightened slightly. "You're _my_ friend. If you don't want to be the matron, you shouldn't be forced into it." His brown haired friend smiled wider.

"Thank you, my little subord'nate. Now where have you _been_?"

Hand whipping to the back of his head, he tried rubbing away his guilt. "Ah, sorry. I'm looking into some blacksmith apprenticeships. The earliest someone will accept me is when I'm your age. Heh, to another two years of being an altar server."

He lifted up an imaginary wine glass in a toast, then wondered if he was unconsciously being sacrilegious. Stopping for a moment, he began scratching behind his head again, this time out of nervousness. "Hey, speakin' of guardian angels, is my secret still safe?"

She rolled her eyes and spoke exasperatedly, "Yes, Mr. Angel. It's still our little secret."

Petulance filled the tone. "Hey, just cause my wings haven't erupted yet doesn't mean I ain't the very image of innocence." His eyes turned watery again. "Right?"

"All right, all right, sheesh. I didn't even teach you that technique and you perfect _and_ enhance it. _Bastard_."

Naruto's nose scrunched up at the word.

Isabelle paled at the unknowing slight. "Oh, sorry. Any news on the adoption front?"

He looked up at Isabelle with a puzzled expression then stared forward once more, continuing the pace. "Nah, any native here is hard pressed to adopt me for some reason." He rolled his eyes. "They must still be in awe of my holiness."

Isabelle stated sarcastically, "Holiness doesn't come to mind when I think of our town's tormentor, the joke king Naruto, the-."

"Okay, okay, I get it already." Naruto pouted.

An idea seemed to strike the younger Browne. "Hey do you want to get something to eat at our house? I made some haggis and black pudding." She ended in a sing song voice.

Naruto perked up at the bait then drooped. "Aww _man_. Could you ask me again tomorrow, I'm not that hungry today..."

Isabelle shifted her eyes towards him, her pace slowed slightly. "But you haven't eaten since yesterday?"

"I know it's just I ain't that hungry for some reas-."

The boy felt an arm go across his chest and peered up into the fearful eyes of his friend. "What's the ma-" She grabbed him by the shirt and dragged him into the alley with her, even with his light protests. The brown haired teen sat down next to him against the wall while she seemed to be vibrating...in fear?

Nothing scared Isabelle. Not spiders. Not big boys, not adults.

Nothing.

He whispered, "What's goin' on?"

"An organization member. It's a _handler_." She answered tersely.

"What the hell's a _handler_?"

She looked down with some surprise. "You don't know?" His blank expression was all the answer she needed.

The teenage girl sighed with closed eyes. "Whenever there's a handler, a claymore is usually nearby." His continued blank expression made her exhale once more. "A claymore is a female warrior who kills yoma." Another blank expression. "What the hell 'Ruto, you've never heard of a yoma?"

He shook his head no.

She shot a quick glance out of the alleyway, then ducked back in.

Sighing, she added, "Damn this is going to take a while." She stared him in the eye, earthy eyes meeting murky blues. "A yoma is a creature that _eats_ humans. Their favorite meal is human guts, meaning _our_ organs." Naruto gasped. "Yeah, scary there. Anyways, they attack humans and these 'claymore'," She placed special emphasis on the word, "kill the yoma."

Naruto interjected, completely forgetting their, evidently, dire situation, "But why can't yoma be killed by regular people?"

Speaking as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, she plainly said, "Because the yoma can shape-shift and take the form of just about anyone." Naruto swallowed. That sounded horrible, being eaten by someone you trust? He never would want that fate. "_We_ can't tell what they are, but _they_ can…somehow."

Naruto was confused. "But, if that's the case, then why are you afraid of someone who can protect us?"

Isabelle looked sad, "Well, _all_ the claymores are women, as I said earlier."

Naruto was pissed. "What the _hell_? Why can't men fight these things too?! Workin' off your backs like tha-."

"They originally were, but they kept awakening."

"What does sleep have to-?"

"They become a more powerful yoma. I have no idea why, but awakening was almost irresistible to men. They lacked self control or something."

"Why not have priests as claymore then? They have pretty good self control if they can be celibate their entire lives."

Isabelle held a hand up, "Naruto, don't interrupt me again until I say so. I have no real idea why there are no male claymores. But they _don't_, so get over it." He pouted, but kept quiet nonetheless. "Good boy. Now, how do you think they acquire these warriors?"

Naruto's brow tightened with thought. "By askin' 'em I guess."

A sadness fell on her face. "No. They don't."

The boy's eyes narrowed in thought. "What? Then how do they recruit?"

She peeked out the corner with an edge of paranoia before continuing. "Each town head has power over every individual. If they wanted to, they could force everyone to wear a hair shirt or even take kids away from their parents."

She stared at him softly. "They hold incredible power over people." The aspiring town head nodded hurriedly, what did this have to do with anything? "The organization, or the people who employ claymores, offer two sets of compensation for yoma hunting. Monetarily, which they basically ask for an ass-load of beras. If the town cannot pay, they request 'human capital'."

She swallowed hard. "Which is a child they acquire. The said child is then trained to become a future warrior for the organization."

Naruto's face went pale. "Holy shit."

She wrinkled her nose. "More like _un_holy shit. But that isn't the _only_ reason why we're here right now, rather than in our homes. The claymores themselves are _scary_. And when I say scary, I mean I would piss my pants if I had to stand near one again." Naruto sniggered at the thought of his courageous friend losing control over herself. "They are made by adding yoma flesh to the stomach and training them in the use of their power. It stops their aging, but without _exception_, they _will_ awaken and they _will_ eat humans eventually."

Naruto's smile fell as his expression softened. "That's, actually…kind of sad."

"No, it _is_ sad. They were humans forced to become something entirely different and both humans and claymores have to keep an eye out on each other out of _fear_. The human fears the claymore's awakening and the claymore fears herself from awakening and becoming a danger to all she holds dear." Her voice was clearly empathetic.

"Well, I can understand where you're coming from; I wouldn't want to live their life either." To be hated like that, over something that they didn't choose. It was wrong, that's all he knew.

She smiled gently, yet…hesitantly? "I know."

The fourteen year old asked, "Are all the claymores treated so distantly?"

Isabelle shrugged but looked around with a twinge of paranoia. "_Maybe_. I don't know. I saw one when mum and I visited our family back east. I wanted to talk with her for a little bit 'cause people were rude to her. At first she seemed nice but once I started talking with her I realized she was bat-shit _insane_. If that's the norm for claymore, I ain't ever gonna talk to another one."

Naruto heard footsteps nearing their location and stood up.

"What are you _doing_?"

He whispered tersely, "Someone's coming, hide!"

"Where?!"

Too late.

A tall and emaciated man walked by the mouth of the alley before turning his head to meet Naruto's pin pricked pupils. "Oh, hello child, you should be going back home. I've heard that there's a yoma infestation nearby, we're just scanning the town by request."

Naruto tilted his head calmly, the very polar opposite of how he was feeling and completely offsetting his thunderous heart rate. "Yeah?"

The man's grin stretched across non-existent lips, his black glasses flashed dangerously. "Indeed it is child." He made a point of shifting his head towards the boy's huddled and shaking companion behind him. "Oh? Is your friend all right?"

The blonde gave a respectful tilt to his head. "Yes she is, she's just afraid of the possibilities of a yoma roaming about. Now if you please, I would like to take _my_ sister home."

"She?" The handler's thin grin stretched wider. "Hm, but your town hasn't exactly paid yet…"

Immediately, all forms of subtlety took a back seat, they would not be taking his best and only friend away from them. Naruto growled, "You touch _her_; I'll _kill_ you."

The man dressed in black tilted his head and with a placating smile he asked, "Is that so, child?"

Naruto's golden eyes glowed with power as veins writhed onto his face. Spittle flew as he snapped back. "Yeah it is, _old man_."

The man gasped as his unseen eyes widened in disbelief.

But then, just as quickly, a wiry smile snaked across his features once more as his forehead settled back to its normal position. Naruto wasn't sure about the reaction and as soon he was about to say something, a strong and feminine voice called out to the man before him.

"Rubel, what is it?"

Rubel smiled once more before answering, "Nothing. Nothing at all. Let's go back to the rep." The handler turned and walked back to his "charge".

Naruto turned around and saw Isabelle wracked with sobs. He ran to her and crouched down next to her kneeling form. He hugged her firmly and she latched onto him while crying into his neck.

The blonde whispered into her ear as he rocked her back and forth, "It's all right. It's all right. They won't take you. I'll _never_ let them take you. M'kay? I'll protect my friend as long as I live and breathe."

"Thank you. Thank you so much." Isabelle sobbed as she clutched him tighter. "You saved me from certain death, thank you."

He closed his eyes, she did the same for him. "That's what friends are for. Now let's get you home before I have to stare down a yoma too okay?"

She gave a thick throated laugh in reply. He gripped her hand firmly and pulled Isabelle to her feet. She brushed herself off of any _contaminants_ from the alley and looked towards her brave friend for any cues. Naruto checked out both sides of the opening before grasping his friend's hand and dashing through the streets to safety.

* * *

Rubel walked back to the town head's office after sending his companion to finish the job in Gonahl. He stepped into the well furnished room, facing the weathered man before him. The town head seemed to be in his late fifties to early sixties, light grays replaced his raven hair, whilst his entire form seemed to be wilting under his heavy responsibility.

"Have you found anyone that you wish to acquire, Mr. Rubel?"

The handler's disguised smile appeared once more. "Not in the conventional sense, Raphael. However, I must say one _male_ in particular interests me. He was perhaps around fifteen to sixteen years of age, light blonde, lines on his face, blue eyed and fairly well developed. He was also _slightly_ territorial and possessive. Tell me, do you know anyone who meets these…descriptions?"

The town representative's smile looked more like a grimace. With a false civilized tone he stated, "Of course, just to let you know, he's only fourteen at the moment and as such it should be easier for you to shape him. If you want him, by all means, take him." He sighed immediately afterward, the life of a town's _hero_ wasn't to be for that poor child.

At least, not in the sense that the child wanted.

Rubel's smile widened. "Oh even _I_ wouldn't be cruel enough to take a brother away from his sister."

Raphael seemed confused, were they talking about the same person? "Naruto's an orphan. He has no living relatives."

The handler adjusted his gleaming glasses with a middle finger and a bent index. "Is that so? Then that just shows he was very protective of a good friend."

Raphael nodded. "Ah, Isabelle. She's the daughter of one of our town's leadership in the _entertainment business_, if you understand."

"I'd be a fool not to. Now, please tell me the story behind this, _Naruto, _hm?" Rubel pulled out a chair and slid into it.

Raphael was only too eager to get the man out of his office, though with some regret. "Well, he's very strong, has excellent stamina, and he is loyal to a fault. Perhaps he could even be labeled as clingy and overprotective, but I have no doubt within a few years, he will become your new number one warrior."

Rubel smirked. "_Perhaps_ you misunderstood, I didn't ask for his _qualities_, I asked for his _story_. How did a male claymore drop into your lap in the first place?" Raphael raised a wizened brow. "Oh, come now, it wasn't _that_ hard to find out when a child's eyes shift from blue to _gold_ and sprout some veins." The man clenched his fist in frustration. So he had been cornered?

The head sighed and shook his head, "Fourteen years ago our town was attacked by an awakened one. Excuse me, the _abyssal_ one of the east. The town head at the time was named Uzumaki Kushina, our red headed and red blooded protector."

Gnarled fingers rolled on the desk. "She and her husband Minato had _just_ had a child together and were planning on celebrating with the rest of the town when this giant creature just started stomping around eating our citizens left and right. Needless to say Kushina and Minato were the first on the scene. How they did it, I'll never know, but they fought the thing to a _standstill_. _Human's_ fighting a giant _yoma_ to a _standstill_!" The man's voice echoed disbelief.

He continued weaving the tale, "But to eliminate it, both of them had to get in its kill range. They were impaled through the lungs, heart and spine by a tentacle." His face darkened with retribution, "Just as Kushina chopped off its head and Minato shoved a broadsword through its heart. Needless to say, none of them, not the creature, Kushina, or Minato would be surviving that."

The older man closed his eyes in remembrance of their sacrifice and the upcoming twist. "Kushina begged with her last rattling breath, to implant some of the abyssal's flesh into their baby so he could protect the town in the future, both of them ordered the townspeople to treat their son like a hero."

The handler, Rubel mused to himself, "So that's why only a couple of the common manifestations appeared." Rubel's smile split his head in half. "But him being recognized, wasn't to be. The people didn't treat him like a hero; in fact they treated him just like any other claymore."

The town-head's smile dropped as his face twisted in fury and frustration. "Look, you know better than _anyone_ why we're like that. Claymores are a hair away from killing us while people like _you_, rob us dry. Hell, we can't even look them in the _face_ without seeing what you've ripped away from us!"

The man in black tilted his head and raised his hands disarmingly, "I'm not condemning you by all means, I was simply making an observation. Since you made the offer in good standing and no yoma were found, this _examination_ will be pro-bono."

The town's representative closed his eyes with regret and nervousness on his outburst. He could have just killed off his entire town by his tirade. "I'm sorry, I'm just under a lot of pressure from my people. I thank you for your kindness."

"Of course, I understand. It's not easy to give up another's child. Nor your own for that matter, even if it is for the greater good."

Raphael breathed in raggedly. "How are my…daughters?" After they were taken from him, his wife died of a broken heart, and he was dying a little every damn day.

Rubel smiled once more. "Alicia and Beth are becoming quite the warriors. They will soon be our trump card against all yoma, perhaps even help reach their complete extermination within a hundred years." Rubel tilted his head down. "Now you haven't told me about the rest of his story. How could he not know he was a claymore?"

The representative's eyes trailed around the room, "We've kept the claymore's and the yomas existence fairly quiet, he was only told to be home before it gets dark. He doesn't question, he simply accepts it as he was told. He and his friend Isabelle have come to their own conclusions about him though."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, they think he's an angel because of the blonde hair and blue eyes. I guess it's more like the opposite of an angel hm?" Raphael stated with a sigh.

"Now don't say _that._ His innocence speaks better of him than a yoma." Rubel's smug smirk returned. "So where exactly was the yoma flesh placed?"

Raphael rested his head on a hand, he really wanted the prick in black out of his office. "On his back, where else would we put it?"

Rubel answered him promptly, "Around thirty or so years ago, we stopped the procedure of placing the flesh of the yoma into the back. Evidently the location didn't prevent pregnancy like it would on the chest or stomach, so we switched areas. We can't have warriors over protective of their own children now, can we?"

Raphael leaned back in his leather chair. "What are you getting at?"

"Number seven escape from our grasp around _forty_ years ago. She was never found again, so whether she was killed or lived on was unknown to us." Rubel leaned forward over the desk menacingly. "Our number seven's name was _Kokonotsu_ _Shinamono_."

The leader shook his head. "I don't get it."

"Who was the one to tell you where to place the flesh?"

Raphael still remained puzzled. "Kushina of course?"

The handler leaned back in his chair with clasped hands covering part of his face. "Kushina wasn't a natural red head. Was she?"

It finally clicked. "You think Kushina was your number _seven_? Then that means…"

"Yes it means-"

"Naruto was born a half breed already? _Naturally_?"

Rubel's thin smile weaved wider. "No, he was only a _quarter_ breed. Of course _now_ he's turned three quarter breed. Not with just any yoma flesh either, but an _abyssal one's_."

Raphael's eyes widened, his pallor increased even more."H-How? I m-mean how c-could you tell?"

"What tipped me off were his eyes. They were _blue_." The man sporting black shrugged. "His yoma side subconsciously tried to hide defining features, such as silver or even golden eyes at birth, sensing the hostility of those around him. He's a natural shape shifter." Rubel mused that he wouldn't even need yoma suppressants for infiltration missions, as long as he got a hold of his abilities.

"Dear Go-."

Rubel interrupted him by tilting his head respectfully and holding up a hand. He didn't like the bad karma of insulting the divine. "Thank you for your business and the entertaining tale." The handler stood up with grace belying his size and was about to leave, when the leader interrupted his stop.

"Good day and thank you for the information." Raphael met his eyes. "More care will be exercised around him." The old man gave a respectful head tilt.

The handler considered smoothly, "Perhaps that's the problem. Good day Raphael."

Rubel stepped outside and shut the door behind himself.

A rich and firm voice spoke up immediately. "A yoma has gone missing in Gonahl. I am thinking it may attempt infiltration here. What are your orders, sir?"

The handler gave a dark smirk. He might as well give a test run on the boy to see if he was a prodigy worth recruiting for himself. Lord knows that the higher level claymore could literally _beat_ a yoma to death, and it seemed like he _would_ be on a higher tier. "The town hasn't paid, we have no obligation here. Come, Rafaela, it's time to leave."

* * *

Naruto peered out the window of the dormitory into the dusty streets below. The blonde made sure his friend arrived home safely. Since the claymore and the handler were still in town, she wasn't in danger of a yoma attack, and now the two would probably be searching around town for anyone that caught their eye. Perhaps they might even show up here. Tsch, he certainly hoped not, his back _still_ burned fiercely when he saw that handler bastard.

He inhaled sharply believing that, _perhaps_ his wings were erupting!

The boy dashed to the bathroom and shoved his shirt into a corner. He gave an about face whilst viewing the mirror from the corner of his eye.

Nope. His back was still that pale grayish-green hue, the bumps were _still_ non-uniform and _still_ no wing bones were poking through. He sighed. _'Will I ever get them? Maybe I'm still in training, or something.'_

Naruto, now the very image of depression, slid a shirt back on and walked back to his bed propping himself onto it. As soon as he did, he flopped on his back and noticed the ceiling. It was a boring one as all ceilings are.

After the plasterer's got to it, they started throwing chunks of stuff they called "mud" at it and made huge splatters. He thought that would be pretty cool on the walls, so he could climb it, like a mountain face! Or something. Instead, the walls had a lot smaller splats so unless he wanted to make holes in the wall, he couldn't climb it. Damn.

After a few moments, he considered his status in the village.

He…_supposed_ he should regret not being adopted but it wasn't like he could _do_ anything about it. Nobody wanted to adopt him and he'd only be a few years away from being completely independent anyways. By then, he could be an apprentice to practically any trade he _wanted_. He already got several offers for future openings from things like farming, deliverer or a blacksmith.

Still…there were some days that he just wanted someone to come home to, or even the knowledge that someone was _there,_ rather than the non-existent phantoms gallivantin' in the silence. _Nothing_ scared him more than silence, not the night and definitely not thunderstorms. He rather liked the rain in fact. It was just…he wished someone cared for him for just _existing_, rather than loathing him for doing the same.

"Naruto! Come down, a new comer wishes to adopt a child!"

The boy sighed at the matron's cracking voice. She did this all the time.

Of all the ones that seemed to care at least a _little_ about him, the matron seemed to worry about him the most. But he knew that showing up downstairs was nothing more than a waste of good staring time.

Had this day been, say, ten years ago, he would have had a one in five chance in getting a new home. Five years ago, at best, a one in ten. Now, he had a solid one in one _hundred_ chance. Of all the kids likely to be adopted, the children under 3 years of age had the highest chance of success 'cause they were _cute_. If you were any older, they'd skip by you rather quickly. After all, no one wanted to get attached to a kid, and then lose them a few years later to emancipation at sixteen.

He knew he wouldn't.

The so-called "joke king" dragged himself out of bed and shuffled downstairs. He joined the line of other brats standing shoulder to shoulder waiting to be checked over by the new-comer. He looked up to the wooden latticework ceiling. Naruto mused quickly on the oddness in a plastered building before the task at hand took precedence.

The raven haired matron gestured to the line of children. "They're right here, Akemi Kamiko-san."

Naruto had a strange addiction at times like this. He liked avoiding the sight of the adopter and instead glimpse at the faces of the other orphans. There was something about their faces that was intriguing. Even if they hid their expressions, perspectives and emotions with a countenance of stone, their _eyes_…their eyes told _everything_ in minute detail.

Every sprinkle of hope, dashed with excitement glimmered in their shimmering eyes. In fact, it was why he won almost every poker and card game that relied on bluffs. He was _not_ lucky. He had skill in reading people better than even the _merchants_. Naruto _knew_ he was perceptive beyond his years. He was also empathetic which helped a little in translating other's emotions.

Compared with empathy, sympathy was merely a back pat and a too bad so sad philosophy. Sympathy was pretty much saying, "Wow, your life is shit, but for the Grace of God go I". On the other hand, empathy was a literal definition of walking in another's shoes and sharing emotions.

Perception, mixed with empathy gave Naruto skills in acting unsurpassed by his peers or his supposed superiors. He could literally fill any role in life by imitating reactions and _feeling_ incidents as if they truly affected him. He was an actor, a…_pretender_ of the highest caliber.

He wouldn't call it a split personality per se, but he could literally connect and _become_ anyone he wanted. His stamina and work ethic were merely additional drops in the bucket in apprenticeships.

Ah shit, he was rambling mentally again. He totally missed the raven haired woman leaning over at eye level to him. And how, he never knew. She was _very_ pretty, had long thin strands of black hair, hazel eyes, and smooth features. The white butcher's apron kind of hid her features, but he could tell she was definitely a woman…even if her arms were lean and fairly muscular.

Though in all honesty, he was kind of biased and had a _kinda _slight crush on someone else but he would never, under pain of death, torture and life as a eunuch, _ever_ admit he liked Isabelle, even a little. He didn't…really. Although, that isn't necessarily true and he should say he liked her _only_ as a friend. Even though she was becoming dreamier by the day, had a wonderfully unique personality and generosity you'd be hard pressed to match.

And no, before you ask, he wasn't jealous of any boyfriend she had. The pretentious pricks they were, even that polite one. That one _had_ to have been faking, no one was _that_ saintly. Also, he wasn't a hypocrite for complaining about the faking bastard, he never faked his feelings around Isabelle...much. Damn, he was rambling again.

_Anyways_, the woman gazing, he assumed, around him, smelled of raw meat and bone, matching a needed craft in town. Not that he'd say anything about it, he didn't smell any better after his daily escapades around town or the orphanage.

Dammit! He didn't get any haggis from Isabelle, he was kinda hungry after all that earlier stress and _maybe_ he could kick the crap out of that geeky, saintly, faking asshole while he was there. Meh, there's always tomorrow.

The woman's gentle voice mixed gently with the echoes of the empty hall, "What's your name boy?"

Naruto looked around himself. Unless she was looking over his shoulder or talking to a ghost, the meat hawker seemed to be speaking to him.

Face losing all expression, his eyes began boring into hers.

Another one interested in his exotic features. After this question, she'd ask about his qualities then go onto and adopt some other poor, interesting looking child for bragging rights.

"M' name's Uzumaki Naruto, Akane-san."

"Naruto!" the matron exclaimed with a chastising voice, "Her name is _Akemi_. Pay _attention_ to our guests!"

Naruto quirked a brow. "But it isn't fitting."

"Naruto, just because she's a butcher, doesn't mean that such a name is fitting. Her parents didn't know her future career choice." She turned to Akemi, "I'm so sorry about that. He has this-."

His molten blues locked onto Akemi's form. He wasn't talking about her being a butcher, though it was nice that his deduction was true. Oh. _Ohh_. That must be an angel thing that only he could see, or something.

Naruto shrugged, "Mah, it was a mistake, matron-baa. It doesn't matter much." Akemi was trying to suppress a smirk at the byplay.

The matron on the other hand was horrified. Her face turned scary as she hissed, "_Naruto_! Show some respect for your betters! Or-"

The ivory blonde, on the other hand, nearly snapped. "Or what? She won't _adopt_ me? Tsch, she can join the line on that one." He said bitterly.

The matron's face paled, while the butcher's amused expression softened perceptibly. Naruto met Akemi's eyes without flinching, his head slightly downturned to give a menacing aura. "I may be an urchin, but I ain't stupid." He snarled. "You're just interested in my looks. Well guess what, I'm a _freak_. Now go and adopt someone else. Don't _tease_ me."

Akemi's voice soothed the tension on his face and in his shoulders like a gentle stream. "Naruto, not everyone is like that. I've heard about you personality and what you've undergone. Your spirit is very strong. No, _you_ are strong." She paused and gave a gentle smile. "I came here to ask if you would like to be Naruto Kamiko?"

Naruto's mouth worked open then closed just as quickly. His gut was wrenching and writhing with guilt. He just insulted and _yelled_ at someone who wanted to call him their own. It looked like his track record with his new mother was _already_ shit. He'd just have to make up for it tenfold.

The blonde nodded quickly, trying in vain to suppress his happy tears. "I'm sorry, it's just…"

She smiled softly, "I know Naruto. I know. Come on. Let's go _home_. Thank you, Sibyl-san."

Home. A word he thought he'd never hear. A smile blossomed on his face. _Home._ No more staring out the windows watching kids take their parents for granted. No more having dreams of having a loving mother or father only to wake up with a pit in his stomach, realizing that it _was_ just a dream, that he had no one, that he _is_ no one. No more having what "all the other kids" had to eat, he could have a snippet…that _spark_ of individuality. His new mother, Akemi, would be cherished every day for the rest of his life.

He darted to her and grasped her hand gently yet firmly. He looked back at the other kids, each and every one of them smiled, but it never reached their eyes. The unwitting claymore felt his stomach churn again, yes, he'd been waiting for this day for a long while now, but he was in their shoes just a few moments ago.

"Let's go Kaa-sama." Akemi smiled down at her adopted son's title for her.

Only thing is, _his_ smile _did_ reach his eyes when the others were taken in. Even if he _was_ envious. The fact that they didn't show even a little true happiness for him was insulting. They wouldn't be missed.

His step faltered.

Much.

The two's shoes echoed on the cold stone, while the wooden door creaked open and a shaft of light impaled their eyes. Naruto thought about his earlier realization. He never really thought that seeing the smoky lookin' stuff lifting from everyone was unique to him.

Hell, everyone seemed to have a slight haze around them that was as different as their features. Most were blue, very few were purple, and only one was grayish. His own aura was a black-maroon-ish color. He looked back at Akemi and realized that she too was unique.

After all, it was the first time he ever saw anyone with such a pretty and distinctive red aura.

* * *

AN:

For future reference, my claymore verse is matrilineal. The child named Minato was of no relation to Naruto, the parents just named him in honor of one of the town's heroes. Plus it's ironic, naming your kid after a hero and shunning the said hero's child. Naruto is still hyperactive/random, but only mentally.

He's not hiding any skill, but he's very apt at pretending/acting and he's also extremely perceptive, both of which he only does when he wants to. I also slowed down the kids cognitive (yar, fancy word) functions but not by much, they still have some innocence when they are younger than eleven. Yes, I know Kushina and Minato's deaths aren't medically accurate, so please overlook that and realize that I know, that you know, that I know that it was incorrect.

Akane = brilliant red.

Kokonotsu Shinamono = nine goods = Kushina

Why the old man told Naruto's story was because the handlers are the yay or nay guys. If you upset one enough, they can choose whether or not your town gets saved. If Raphael answered in falsehoods, he would have been risking his town's existence. No fighting yet, but hopefully it will be in next few chapters.

The shapeshifting thing is totally inspired by Prototype.


	2. Chapter 2

Pretend Chapter 2

Meat, Stone and Iron.

Disclaimer: I don't own Claymore, nor Naruto, nor do I have a clever one liner. These stories are trying to entertain you, please don't take them seriously, or otherwise act like this in the real world.

AN:

Also, just because a pairing isn't listed, doesn't mean there won't be one. It's just a surprise. ;) Especially to me. I'm thinking so and so, but I'm on the edge with such and such and so on, you know?

* * *

Naruto couldn't help but skip and hop next to his adopted mother nor could he keep the enormous, toothy grin off his childish face. His pearlescent blue eyes, met his kaa-sama's amused and slightly squinted hazel browns.

She spoke through a pleasant smile. "You seem excited." She rubbed his head tenderly causing the boy to lean in and melted into the gentle massage. "-Fectionate little guy, ain't chya?"

Trying in vain to reign in his blush, he nodded quickly, though keeping his pace next to her. "Sorry, it's just the matron's usually busy so, um..." He paused for a moment, mulling over how best to put it. He scratched behind his head nervously, "Well, we don't get touched that often. I guess it helps with sterility?" He squinted with an absent stare. "Yeah, sterility and stuff."

Akemi nodded understandingly, before lifting her nose and closing her eyes, "Well I hope you get used to it." Her eyes snapped open as she slid closer to Naruto, a hand resting over his neck junction.

"What's the matter Kaa-sama?" He could've sworn her eyes glinted differently for a moment. The fourteen year old looked where his Mum was.

Hackles rose immediately…He could barely restrain himself from growling and lunging at the man in black just twenty feet away.

The boy's eyes shifted up to Rubel's well armored companion. She held a mature and practical beauty, with a smoothed angular face framed by short spiky fringes of light blonde hair. The only visible physical imperfection was the massive 'starburst' scar that lay over her nonexistent left eye offsetting the right eye's silver hue.

None of this helped to make him any less leery of the massive smoky black aura flickering around her and roiling into the street within a twenty foot radius.

So she was like him…sort of? A guardian angel of a sort? Wait…didn't Isabelle say something about Claymores being close to the handler? Might as well ask someone who might know more about the subject than himself.

Naruto looked up to his mother and tugged at her sleeve. "Mom? Is that a Claymore?"

Akemi shot her eyes down in his direction, "You've never heard about how they look? Silver eyes and blonde or silver hair are some of the most talked about features amongst them." Her brow furrowed. "When did you find out anyways? It's pretty common knowledge." Akemi's eyes flicked back to the warrior.

A puzzled expression overtook his face. "It is? I just found out earlier today." They were ten feet away from the roads other two occupants, Naruto simply gave a happy wave and bright smile to the Claymore, mouthing the word's 'thanks'. And then shifted a soul rending glare to the dick in black. Said claymore stiffened slightly, evidently on edge, while the handler smiled with snake-like vim.

The prick.

"Today?" Akemi measured Naruto slightly. "I wonder why it took so long... Do you know what they do?"

As Naruto was preparing to answer the question the other two strode by them without altercation, even though the Claymore walked a tad bit slower when they were side by side. Akemi gave a secretive smirk to the two, causing the Claymore to clench her fists in suppressed rage and Rubel's grin to grow.

"They hunt yomas and, um, _probably_ the _awakened_, yoma an' claymore-type…things, right?" Akemi's eyes widened at the word.

She halted in her steps, causing her adopted son to stop as well. "Where did you hear that?"

Tilting his head to the side innocently, Naruto wondered why his mother sounded almost frantic, "Isabelle told me that Claymore's 'awaken' into a more powerful yoma, if I remember correctly." He tested out the unfamiliar word mentally. "And if Claymores are famous, awakened Claymores should be even more common knowledge, right?

The butcher's eyes and expression softened slightly before they continued their pace. She sighed, "They're normally known as 'Voracious Eaters' by the regular people. 'Awakened _Being'_ is the 'professional' term for it, known only to Claymore, yoma, and the _very_ well informed so it was a little… _unusual_ for you to know that." Naruto seemed poised and ready to ask a question. But she cut in with a little teasing before he could. She practically sang, "Who is this Isabelle? Your _girlfriend_?"

Blushing imperceptibly, Naruto scratched the side of his cheek while answering. "Nah, Isabelle's just a really good friend." He rolled his eyes in thought. "So, so, how do you know about awakened thi- er, _beings_?"

"I…" her expression turned odd, "_befriended_ a claymore a long time ago." She grew a cheeky grin. "So I guess I'm well informed. By the way, there's a ranking for the food chain."

She held up a single digit. "First there's the yoma. They're basically monsters who can shape-shift into humans and extend their limbs which is their extent of that ability. While they are the weakest in the food chain, they are still superior to humans in everything. All of them can gain certain attributes from eating, such as memories and habits if they eat the brain."

Naruto flinched at the information even as Akemi soldiered on, not even phased. "Then next on the food chain, is the Claymore. As you now know, the Claymores are made by adding yoma flesh to a young girl, usually on the stomach, and they are highly trained in the art of combat. In return, they hunt yomas for their organization. The organization, is then paid handsomely by the humans for their services. They can take down yomas fairly easily, only being defeated if they are especially weak or imperceptive."

Yawning lightly, she continued. "While the Claymores used to comprise of males, they couldn't resist the power as well as a female could, so they became the next creature, the Awakened Being. The awakened being is a Claymore or Claymore in training that didn't resist the lure of power, or the…_feeling_ from the yoma flesh. They combine the control and abilities, both active and latent, of the claymore with the raw youki power of multiple yoma. It requires a team of high level Claymores to take an average one down, though a number five or higher ranked warrior can take one, or even a small group, down easily."

Akemi took a deep breath while Naruto's eyes were widened with fascination. "Finally, there are the highest ranked creatures, the Abyssal Ones, or they're also called the 'Abyssal Creatures'. They were the Number One ranked Claymores in the organization that awakened."

The butcher's eyes darkened. "There are supposedly four in total, the first one was Isley the White Silver King of the North. He is the first and only male Abyssal among the four and was amongst the first generation Claymores several centuries ago. Riful the Ripper of the west. The first, number one ranked female Claymore, the youngest to reach that rank, and the youngest to awaken. Luciela, the Devourer of the South, when she awakened she was so powerful, that she almost completely demolished the organization."

After a few moments of empty silence, Naruto looked up towards his mother. "What about the fourth one?"

Silence extended for another moment. "The fourth one is only thought to be a myth. _Vuripes_, the Saint of the East. Some legends say that she was the strongest, others the weakest." She shrugged. "Some say she died in a small town somewhere, others still say she prowls the continent, looking for yoma guts and the occasional hunt for a Claymore."

"What do you think?"

"She was no legend."

Naruto's eyes widened. "You saw her?"

Shaking her head, she answered darkly. "No, I saw her _leftovers_. There were claymores and yoma scattered all over the place, all with their guts hanging out." A light chuckle filled the streets. "Humans used to consider her their guardian angel that protected them from the yoma. They labeled her the Saint of the East, not knowing that she is a so-called 'Voracious eater' and killing off other Claymore. For some reason, the name stuck with the organization."

"Oh…I thought that awakened beings only ate humans?"

Akemi gave him a sidelong glance before her eyes searched for her home once more. "One in every million awakened beings hunger for their yoma and their own kind. Cannibals of a sort. It's a very rare condition, though it is presumed that a Claymore made from such an awakened being would be of the same condition."

He was enraptured by this new world that was deprived from him. "Wow…so there's no _boss_ to an Abyssal One, right?"

Akemi almost halted in her tracks, tittering lightly, "No, thankfully. If there was, they would be an unstoppable _machine_ capable of wreaking havoc and destruction on a scale never-before-seen. There would be no hope for anyone or anything…"

For the rest of the trip to his new home, he trailed behind Akemi completely immersed in thought.

* * *

Rubel couldn't keep the smug expression off of his face. It wouldn't be long until the boy blossomed into a highly dangerous awakened being, so it would be best if he died now. For himself and his true organization. Having someone that dangerous on your side...Betrayal was almost inevitable.

Yes, his death would be better for everyone.

On the other hand, Rubel would tell the Organization leader that the town paid and it was all clear. He didn't need the higher ups to send a group of yoma to try and get rid of his find because of the town's lack of payment. Chances are, he'd defeat them. But the chances of dying by someone you trusted? The odds were much greater.

Rafaela spoke smoothly and steadily, though she shifted her single eye in his direction almost, but not _quite_ disinterestedly, "Rubel-san, why didn't you want me to engage the yoma?" Her eyes returned to the road in front of her. "It won't be long before the boy dies, the yoma's scent was very potent on him and she was already holding him as a hostage. They'll call us back soon enough."

His smirk turned wry, "I told you Number five, they didn't _pay_. Everything and everyone has a price, we do not know the meaning of pro-bono nor do we subscribe to charity cases. But that isn't it…" He slid his eyes in her direction. "Is it?" His voice gained an almost mocking pitch, "You've always had such a _soft spot_ for kids, I wonder if they remind you of your siblings."

Rafaela's hands clenched as his eyes snapped forward again. He continued, this time sharply. "Don't let it get in the way. No matter how much you and I may disagree with it. The way the organization sees it, is that, you've shamed them enough. They may not let it go a second time if you disobey. Understood?"

Giving a single nod, she replied sharply, "Sir!"

"Excellent."

Such a good, naïve and honor bound child. So easy to manipulate, even though she could just as easily cut him through like a knife through water.

Though, it freed Rubel to think over his new project.

While he should be extremely cautious concerning a male Claymore, _especially_ one with Abyssal flesh in him, Rubel couldn't help but be excited that he'd be able to return to his _true_ home and leaders and report the new possibility.

He could examine the child upon his death, and see what powers could come of it.

His eyes flashed golden beneath his blackened glasses.

Though, he knew _exactly_ what type of warrior the boy would become.

There were two well known Claymore; the offensive and defensive type. The offensive type preferred to attack the target rather than protect themselves; they were strong in battle, yet weak in regeneration skills. They were born by their heart's desire to attack the enemy.

The defensive were just the opposite, choosing to be more guarded in their approach. While they were somewhat weaker in battle, they had extensive regeneration capability. They were formed by their heart's desire to protect themselves. But there was also a third and extremely rare Claymore.

The stealth type.

They could literally fit _any_ mold and adapt to _any_ situation, not to mention become practically non-existent. They were born by their heart's desire to disappear, to melt into a crowd without anyone's knowledge and _never_ stand out.

In layman's terms, they were shapeshifters and natural actors in every sense of the word.

Not only that, but they could place their vitals anywhere in their body, shift their strength through mere _thought_, and assume the properties of anything "consumed". In short, not only could they be stealthy, but a veritable juggernaut capable of powering through most any challenge.

It took Luciela and his current companion, Rafaela, to beat down the first one so many years ago. Thankfully, it was a low ranked warrior and therefore she was eliminated fairly quickly. A number 20 against two of the top warriors stood no chance, no matter her natural ability.

But a natural born shapeshifter with abyssal flesh? A male one no less?

Now, why the latter was important, was due to the simple fact that the female claymores attained refined _control_ over their youki and yoma abilities, whereas the men were all about raw _power_. Metaphorically speaking, you could think of it as a wall, and two ways around it. The females would simply hop over a wall with little exertion, whereas a male crash his way through it.

Or die trying.

He didn't want the child…Naruto? Yes, _Naruto_, to have too much control over his ability. Though...

The loss of his power, his ability and his attacking type, would almost be a shame.

But one he would be at ease with.

* * *

Naruto fell into step behind his mother Akemi, so it came as a surprise when she stopped outside a small storefront.

"We're here."

Most would consider it quaint, but to an orphan who lived in close quarters? It was a _mansion_ filled with character. It was a way to pay back his mother via chores, and a place to go for the wonderful company of his new Mum.

Taking all that into consideration, it was no _wonder_ why Naruto couldn't keep the massive grin off of his face.

He took in the sight of thick slabs of meat stacked displayed through the plate glass windows, the eroding and barely maroon brick work, and the brownish sign marking the territory of "Kamiko's Butchery". The refreshing scent of bloody meat filled his nostrils and slid down his throat.

He could almost _taste_ it.

"I hope you don't mind, but we'll be eating pretty cheaply for a month or so." Akemi smiled at him apologetically, "I just finished getting used to the cost of running a business," She winked at him jokingly "But I have no idea just how high maintenance you must be. I need to see how much you'll eat, the resources you'll take up, etcetera. I'm sorry about this."

If Naruto didn't feel guilty before, he sure as hell felt it now. Just how much of a burden would he be, _especially_ for a poor mother?

Staring down at the ground sadly, he _knew_ that he would really hated saying this and he _really_ didn't want to go back to the orphanage after just leaving. But he had to at least offer. "It's all right if you don't want me here, I don't want to be a burd-."

He felt a small slap to the back of his head.

"Did I _say_ I would get rid of you? _No_. I just said that I wanted to see how much it would cost to raise you for a month before I spend too much on you." She ruffled his head again. "I want to see how much I can spend on frivolities, I don't want to break the bank just because you're so adorable."

Blushing heavily, he tried in vain to hide it by scratching his cheek. He couldn't completely suppress the happy feeling in his chest either.

"See what I mean?" She swept him into a hug and chirped, "So adorable I could just eat you up!"

He giggled when she blew air around his neck, making a strange farting sound. "Ma-haham! Teheha!" She blew into his neck harder, causing him to be on the brink of pissing himself before she showed him mercy.

She started petulantly, "_Alright_. Anyways, going back to what we were talking about earlier, I hope you don't mind haggis, blood pudding and the like."

Naruto's jaw dropped. "Haggis?"

Holding out a placating hand, she tried to calm him down. "I know you probably don't like it, but-"

"I _love_ it! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" He leapt into her arms and planted rapid fire kisses on her cheeks in beat to his words.

"Heh, alright, alright, I get it, _I_ get it. So you don't mind haggis or the others…okay then, I'll make some up so why don't you go play or talk to _Isabelle_."

His cheeks inflamed once more, though he shoved down his embarrassment. "But don't you need help?"

She lifted a single finger in statement of fact. "Nah ah, aah. Definitely not when we just met. Besides, it's every parent's duty to take care of and embarrass their children. I wouldn't feel like a good mother otherwise."

The boy truly did want to help out his Mom and bond with her over some old-fashioned cooking! "Are you sure?"

"Positive! Now go have fun." She gave him a faux salute as she spun around into her shop.

Naruto turned around and looked at the straight and empty streets with a smile. It felt like a dream…

He was adopted…

He had an awesome mother who was not only really nice, but _complimented_ him as well.

The blonde padded down the small set of stairs, and stepped onto the cobblestone.

He was _adopted_.

She was burdened with him, yet still _accepted _him. Hell, she was making haggis for _him_.

Naruto started jogging down the street, a gentle breeze whisked into his ears.

He was _adopted_!

"Hahahaha!" Tears streamed down his face due to the wind buffeting his face.

He had family, a new start, a purpose!

The happy fourteen year old had no idea he was subconsciously pushing his body past any normal human limit.

Naruto didn't hear his flesh crackling into hardened plates, nor did he feel his baby fat and tendons shifting unnaturally to muscle. It then moved from his torso, arms, back, neck and face to his leg musculature, augmenting said limbs' power at the cost of weakening the others. Neither did he feel the spiky cleats forming and piercing the thin sole of his tattered sandals or the burning soreness instilled by it in his happy state of mind.

His heart pumped faster than ever before, faster than humanly capable.

"Fufufufu." The blonde's breathing was heaving and his eyes constricted to pin pricks, absorbing his surroundings absently.

Unwittingly, he was _demanding_ his body to move faster, to react, to harden, to _change _and his body simply answered him with capability and power.

He never noticed the ground cracking and shattering beneath his hammering feet, the wind whipping at his face, or the formerly blurry surroundings sharpening to a superhuman level, thanks to higher cognitive processing_._

That is, until he registered he was nearing a corner _very_ quickly.

As soon as he regained mental control, his body immediately returned to normal just as he dropped to his left side and clawed into the ground with unnaturally sharp finger tips. Subconsciously of course, he was hoping to slow down before he broke through the decaying shack.

No luck.

He crashed through the abandoned building, causing the siding to crack and splinter into long shards, even as his skin became as hard as boiled leather. The fourteen year old dropped to the floor, rolled across the unmerciful dirt floor and slammed into an inner wall, causing the air in his augmented lungs to expel. His vision blackened just around the edges as the center of his vision became faded. Only through sheer force of will, did he stay on the verge of consciousness.

His eyes slowly rolled across his surroundings, taking in the surroundings.

Naruto was no longer happy. In fact, his bones felt like they were dipped into magma, his fingernails like they were ripped off, and his skin tingled like he was being lightly tickled by a thousand feathers while simultaneously being flayed with demonic precision.

No, he was no longer happy.

The ivory-blonde heap groaned limply. "Uugh."

It took several more minutes before the pain dulled into an excruciating throb and another five before he could stand and do more than grunt.

Rising to exhausted and shaky limbs, Naruto brushed his tattered clothing free of the dust, and felt a dull twinge reverberate through his bones at the action. He looked down.

Oh…shit!

He finally registered that his clothes were in tatters, barely hanging to him by single threads. What if he had a broken bone? Nothing seemed broken…Would his mother worry about him? Probably, and if she did, she'd probably buy him new clothes…

Dammit!

He had to go back to the orphanage to pick up the clothes he was all too willing to forget about. Well, it was only a quick detour on his way to inform Isabelle, so it wouldn't be completely awful. And maybe he could say a proper goodbye to matron-baa.

He swayed outside the abandoned building and saw the distance and damage. His jaw dropped.

The butcher shop was around six to eight _blocks_ away. He knew he was moving fast, but not _that _fast... He also noticed the five gouges in the street punctuating the scene.

Limping towards the scrapes, he knelt down and stuck a finger into one. He wiggled it around to test the depth, and still couldn't touch the bottom.

Huh, either that must've been there before or… _he_ caused that. Was it another angel thing? He stepped back, still looking at the gouge, before deciding to turn around and walk quickly to his main destination.

Naruto limped into the orphanage's direction, but thankfully his pain was receding gradually. To get his mind off the tenderness, and for navigation reasons, he paid special attention to his home town.

Most of the village was in good condition as most of it was new; all in all, it was probably less than fifty years old. In fact, the shack he just ran into was one of the oldest buildings in the subsection, kept in honor of the town's humble beginnings. Thankfully, most of the people didn't care either way what happened to it, so he _probably_ would be able to keep his skin if they found out what happened. Though it was sad in a way, he was partial to the older buildings.

He smiled serenely.

Their brickwork was always most beautiful during mid day as it shone with a golden sheen, even though it was honed out of clay and stone. Some of the bricks were weathered down from the buffeting rains and howling winds that swept through during the wet season. It only added to their character.

Not to say sunset was any less breathtaking. Rich crimson splashing the walls, while purples dashed across the sky, and vibrant oranges permeating the clouds…it was beautiful. Also, it was one of the reasons why the orphanage was his most favorite building and least favorite metaphor. Architecturally, it always stopped him in place as he looked at it for its existence. In other words, what it truly was.

Yet, in another aspect it was an unwanted symbol of himself. While it was unique, it was also too old, worn, weary and forgotten. Everyone saw it subconsciously, yet no one _noticed_ it, noticed _them_.

He almost paused his step.

Though that wasn't entirely true.

Three people noticed him, Isabelle, the matron and recently, his new mother.

His outstretched fingertips brushed across coarse sandstone gently and nostalgically. Occasionally, they would glide across a crack, or pit.

His eyes softened.

In a sense, he had a larger and dysfunctional family than anyone could ever have outside these walls.

He laughed.

Yes, it was definitely large and definitively dysfunctional. It was a home he could go to, yet it wasn't one he could feel at home in. He had a family, but it wasn't the same. He had a life, but it felt empty at times.

Still, while his life was tough, he was blessed.

He lived, he survived and he thrived in the conditions. Hell, six years ago, he never thought that he would find someone who cared for him and uplifted him. More likely than not, a couple of people now could make such a boast. Maybe…maybe, one day these stones could say the same when he was the town's leader?

Rounding a corner, Naruto padded up the steps made from angular rocks and stood in front of the gargantuan wooden doors. His ears twitched as the gentle scrapes and sprays from gardening caught his attention. He looked over the block railings to see the small garden and the matron toiling in it, meticulously checking each for fruits, veggies or weeds and placing the goods in a nearby basket.

He never noticed it before, but it struck him clear as day at that moment. She had long streaks of gray lining her black hair, bags under her black eyes and crow's feet at the corners of each. Her aura seemed to be graying as well…

She was getting older. How many wrinkles did he cause?

The matron stretched back from her work, and brushed away her sweat stained forehead with a dirt covered forearm. She held a pleasant smile, yet it was slightly hesitant. Her eyes drifted to his shredded shirt. "Hello Naruto. I hope you're here for your belongings and not because of…well, you know."

Smiling happily, Naruto couldn't help but scratch behind his head in nervousness. "Nah, no, um, I just got into an accident on my way here."

She seemed anxious. "Are you all right?"

He scratched harder, "Yeah, I'm better now."

"That's good." She heaved a relieved sigh. "Well, let's get your things." She walked out of the garden, stepped up the stairs and brushed off her pant legs. The matron turned towards him with a pleasant smile. "I packed them up for you, I _thought_ you'd come back for it."

"Ah, sorry about that."

"It's nothing," She shoved the massive doors open giving light to the yellowing walls. "By the way, as soon as you left, an old friend came here and asked around about you. She wanted to offer you a place to stay and an apprenticeship to her craft of blacksmithing."

Naruto inhaled excitedly, "But I thought I had to wait until I was sixteen!"

"That's what I thought too; though she said that you can never start too early and there's no law prohibiting it. Evidently she just came back from extended business and is settling down here again and wants someone to carry on her trade. I just thought about her the other day too, it was ironic seeing her after fourteen years."

Laughing almost sadly, she continued, "It was fun catching up with her again, though our town has certainly changed since she saw it last." She popped open another charred, wooden door, reached for a bag and hefted it up. "I hope you don't mind, but I put her address on a slip of paper in your bag when and if you are interested."

The watery-eyed Naruto hugged the matron, and kissed her cheek much to her surprise.

"Thank you."

For everything.

She returned a knowing, half-smile. "No problem. I hope you come back to see me again and that you don't forget us."

I'll be here when you need me; we'll miss you.

"Before you go…" She reached inside her graying, dirt stained robe and gently lifted a necklace from around her head. It was a small bronze pendant in the shape of a holly branch and berries. "Please take this." She wrapped it around his neck. "It's always given me good luck throughout the years. Hopefully it will do the same for you."

"But I can'-"

"Sure you can. Every time you look at it, you'll think of me. _Now_…" She glared, "I'll leave you to get dressed; you can't walk around town half-naked you know." She lifted an eyebrow sarcastically. "I taught you better than _that_." The matron pointed at his top. "Most of the damage is on your shirt, you only have a few tears in your pants."

She stepped outside the room and closed the door shut behind her to give the still reeling boy some semblance privacy. Seconds later, he popped outside with the bag in hand.

She nodded at him. "There we go; much better." Patting him on the head, she shooed him away. "Now go say hi to Isabelle for me; I'm sure she'll be happy to hear the news." Her eyes softened. "Godspeed Naruto."

The former orphan padded away, slowly at first before slowly picking up his pace, attempting to hide his tears by escaping the situation. He gave a single nod to the matron over his shoulder, incapable of saying what was on his mind and in his heart due to his thickened throat.

As soon as the door closed behind him, he slowed his pace slightly and wiped his eyes. He was such a _kid_. Everyone knew that men didn't cry, an' he _couldn't_ let his friend see his tears.

He stepped down the stairs again, taking a cleansing and shuddering breath.

Alright, Isabelle wasn't too far away, just to the left one block and up another three. He hoped she calmed down some after that huge scare she had. Becoming a claymore did not sound like a good thing, and faced with that threat must have been harrowing.

The ivory-blonde boy strode in Isabelle's direction. The autumn certainly made it colder than a witch's tit.

On that note, how did anyone know how cold a witch's tit was? Why wasn't it like, a, a…a witch's mole or something? And who said a witch's tit had to be cold in the first place? Aw man! Not this _again_.

He shook his clenched fists as he looked upward in frustration.

Damn randomness.

He made a couple more turns, walked a little longer before finally standing before his destination.

The Browne Bathhouse.

It was two stories in height, made mostly from stone, and a large wooden deck and balcony above it. It was also well kempt, the stones were clean, the wood was painted with only minimum decay. The door moved effortlessly, as it was oiled regularly, as Naruto entered the establishment. There were a few occupied seats, and no one he recognized was present in the lobby.

One of the occupants whistled at him. "_Boy_, I know your balls dropped, but aren't you a little young to be here so _often_?"

Naruto pointed with his unoccupied thumb to the stairs, "What-chya talking about? I just want to see my friend."

Another man next to the first chortled derisively. "Yeah, your _friend_. Your _friend with benefits_ you mean. And just because she's your girlfriend shouldn't mean you get prime for free. You should have to pay like the rest of us." An amused smile crossed his wrinkled face. "Though seeing her, it's no _wonder_ why you're insatiable."

The boy was getting _real_ uncomfortable. The ladies here were paid for their time, but Isabelle didn't work here, so she could give her prime time however.

The first man spoke up again. "Hey, I think even the old lady has a little _something_, _something_ for you. It's gotta be the kiddish look."

"Tsch." The second followed shortly. "That innocent expression of yours is so unattractive. It's charming to the girl's I'm sure." He whispered under his breath. "But on you it is…a flat lie."

Naruto heard him but didn't call him on it. He was getting annoyed as is.

The first man nudged the second. "Although… You do have to admit, him with her is becoming. Heh, although if I was with her, I'd be coming too!" The two laughed together at their crude joke.

Just before Naruto could ask what the hell was so funny, he felt a warm and gentle hand settle on his shoulder.

A smooth feminine voice got their attention. "Now now boys, I know you are eager, but please stop accosting this poor child. He is my daughter's friend and neither have taken to the matters of the heart _or_ flesh. It's a shame, really."

The back of her fingertips trailed gently up his cheek, causing a slight tickle to jolt down his neck. "Of course, as you said, I might have a teeny, tiny crush on the poor dear. She'd best _hurry_." She whispered the latter in his ear canal.

He couldn't help but shudder in fear, much to the amusement of the two men.

The first had a mean looking grin on him. "Hey Miss, you should really get back into the game again, you used to be the favorite of everyone. Just look at that poor bastard melting in your hands! He doesn't have a shot in hell!"

It took every ounce of willpower to not just leave _or_ kill the two for annoying him. _**Every**_ ounce of **willpower**_**. **_He could take the teasing from a friend, but not from those greasy disgusting beings.

She laughed melodiously. "Oh my, no need to flatter. I only peddle now; I'm past the phase of the working girl."

He turned around and looked into her brown eyes, the ones that she passed to her daughter. "Can I see Isabelle, Arabella-san?"

Her characteristic red and devilish smirk became present. "No need to be so unfamiliar with me." She readjusted her white veil with a yellow strip as she changed her smile to faux innocence. "Arabella is just fine. Oh my, maybe you could even call me 'mom'."

He heard the other two whisper to each other again. "Yeah, mom I'd like to-."

Naruto closed his eyes and gave a disgusted sigh, causing Arabella to raise a charcoal black eyebrow. He shook his head and whispered to her. "It's not you. It's…"

Her eyes glinted with understanding and she nodded. "Ah. Follow me." She addressed the customers in their chairs with a wink. "It will be _just_ another second and one of the girls will take care of you."

The two walked up a spiraling staircase, Arabella with purpose, and Naruto absently. He always hated the stench of the bathhouse.

It was a nauseatingly miserable mix of steam, sweat, something indescribable and, _of course_, bathroom odor.

Normally, there weren't many customers and today was one of few days that he was openly addressed. Today _was_ the first day he was addressed in such an aggressive manner and he hoped it was the last.

His eyes were still locked blankly at Arabella's hourglass frame. He always thought she walked differently than most, instead of strides, she uh? Rolled, yeah? Rolled, or _shook,_ kinda, her hips. He couldn't understand how it caught his attention in the first place, though at first he thought it was a limp or something. But those were more of a straight, unequal and hesitant step rather than _that_ kind of strut. Arabella's exuded confidence, or power, or something…

The so called 'peddler' knocked on a painted door. "Sweetie, your friend is here." The door opened a small sliver, before being pulled halfway open.

Naruto gave a quick bow in Arabella's direction. "Thanks Miss Browne."

Said woman flicked him on the forehead. "Call me Arabella."

"_Mom_." Isabelle's tone was over exaggeratedly pleading. Her mom simply chuckled in response as she was walking away from the two.

The blonde boy scurried into his friend's room, causing said girl to squawk in surprise.

She closed the door behind him. "What brings you here? Not that I ain't happy to see your sorry ass of course…and thanks again for earlier…" The latter part was quieter than the first. "Oh, and drop your crap and chill for a bit." She pointed to his bag.

"Wh-, oh, I won't be staying here for long." He couldn't help the slight sickness still churning from downstairs, so his jubilant nature wasn't as complete as it was before coming here. "Ah, um, I just wanted to say I was adopted."

Giving him a big hug, Isabelle turned the poor boy's complexion from pale to lobster red. "Congratulations! It took the world long enough to recognize ya'!" She encroached closer and closer into his personal space with her face. "What's she look like? Does she seem nice? What's she do? Where's she from?"

"Uh…Slower this time?"

Isabelle quirked her eyebrow questioningly. "You're normally sharper than this. What does she look like."

"Kinda strong, but pretty."

She squinted her eyes as she imagined what she could look like. "M'kay I guess. I'll meet her later anyways. Alright then, what's she do?"

"She's a butcher."

Isabelle's eyes were squinted almost shut in thought as she nodded. "Respectable enough trade. Where's she from?"

Naruto shrugged. "Dunno. Out of town, though."

She gave a nasal 'hn' by pressing her tongue to the roof of her mouth and opening it slightly. "Is she nice?"

"Mhm!" He chirped. "You'll _never_ guess what she's making right now."

"Hmm. Dunno. Spill."

"Haggis."

"No. _Way_."

"Yeah! Can you believe it?"

She sat on her bed with a bounce. "That's an excellent sign! Congratulations Naruto, she'll make a great mom." Her radiant smile caused Naruto to scratch his cheek. She patted the spot on the bed next to her. "C'mon. Sit down will ya?"

He followed her instructions though kept his head down and bag in front.

Then he interrupted the slight silence. "Is anyone here giving you trouble Isabelle? No one pressured you into anything, right? If they do I swear-."

She rolled her eyes. "No, Naruto. No one's pressuring me and no one's giving me trouble. Why do you ask?"

Naruto hopped off the bed, only to pace back and forth fearfully. "I don't know. Something just doesn't feel right."

"Look, Mom may _want_ me to become the lead here, but she won't _force_ me to do it. Even though she's a mama-san doesn't mean she's _evil_. Hell, even the church supports this place." She never told him what actually went on here, even though she knew he was in the dark on it.

He started shivering slightly. "I don't know, she just creeps the shit out of me."

"Are you looking down on my mom?" She sounded almost angry.

"No," He raised his unoccupied hand placatingly, "I don't mean to sound like that, she just…_scares_ me, that's all."

"Why?" She looked at him oddly, noting it was a tad bit ironic considering he scared most people.

He placed a palm over his forehead and brushed his hair back. "I don't know."

"Hm. Try me."

His hands shot up in frustration. "My gut, alright. Right here." He pointed to the center of his stomach. "I don't know what or why, my instincts just keep telling me to run or fight." He spoke louder. "She hates me, okay?"

Isabelle snorted as she rubbed at her temples. "She doesn't _hate_ you, Naruto."

Leaning at the side of the window just at the foot of the bed, he watched the movement outside blankly, taking note of wisps of color. "Can you see things Isabelle?"

Her tone was becoming angry. "Of course I can see idiot. Don't try and mock me."

Reflective blues stared into her sharply. "I'm not mocking you Isabelle." He looked outside the window once more. "Can you see colors coming off of people?"

She scoffed, "I'm not color blind."

"I'm not talking about _color_, color! I'm talking about auras!"

"The…what?" her inquisitive expression was all he needed to start explaining.

"The colored smoke lifting off of people!" He pointed seemingly generally around Isabelle, but he really was outlining her blue aura. "I thought everyone could see it, until the matron didn't seem to understand what I was talking about. If I can see things like that, I may be more keen to emotions and instinct. It might have something to do with being an angel in training." He ended with finality. "So, she hates me, my instinct says so."

Isabelle sighed as she looked away from him. "Naruto…mom doesn't _hate_ you."

"Oh really, and how can you te-."

She snapped at him. "Because she told me why." Then she looked away from him. "I mean, some things just… struck me as _odd_. I always knew something was different about you and when we weren't talking for a bit, I started thinking that _maybe_ you weren't an angel, that maybe you were something else." She returned his questioning stare. "It was a childish belief that you were an angel and my suspicions were proven correct today."

"Let's start from the beginning." She threw her legs up on the side of the bed and scooted up to the headboard in order to look at Naruto better. "See, of all the towns, we know the _most_ about the inner operations of the Organization."

Ticking off a finger, she started explaining. "For instance, awakened beings aren't common knowledge on the outside. It was the town head's…_reward_ for letting his daughter's be taken for the greater good. Normally, the Organization normally take orphans, so it was an uncommon policy and demanded an equally uncommon reward."

"They took the head's daughter?" Naruto asked in shock.

"Yes. And shut up." She smirked. "Information and being upped on the queue for assistance. Anyways, that information slowly drifted down to the regular townspeople to the point that everyone told their kids as much as they knew, just to keep them safe. 'Course we don't tell outsiders but that's beside the point."

That's right! Akemi seemed surprised that he knew about awakened beings. But… "What are you getting at?"

Gently chiding him, she responded, "Be patient, I'm getting to it. So as I said earlier, it surprised me that you didn't even _hear_ about _yoma_ especially for how old you are. When I got home after, well, you know…um, I…uh." Her hesitance was palpable.

She continued slowly, and hesitantly. "I asked my mom about it. I told her about your lack of knowledge as well as asked about the patch of skin on your back." She licked her chapped lips. "…She was surprised that you had shown me and broke the rule set by the town head and at such a young age. I told her that we thought you were an angel…and she laughed. She already knew our thoughts, but didn't know why."

He had never seen such a serious expression on his longtime friend. "Do you know why everyone keeps their distance from you? If you don't, do you wan'ta know?"

He spoke sharply. "If I did, I'd stop it. It's a pain in the ass, so yeah, I wanna know."

Nodding resolutely, she bolstered herself and continued. "Alright…well…you're not an angel." He gestured to have her get to the point quicker. "You're a Claymore."

Naruto blinked before he reeled in shock.

What!? Why didn't they tell him? Why-?

His face paled and slackened.

Everything made sense now. Everything.

Everything from the way he was treated, the way he was looked at, his special capabilities, the patch of skin.

He swallowed hard, as tears brimmed in their corners.

A sigh filled the room. "The organization wouldn't take you, 'cause you're a male an' all. Then she talked a little bit about how she felt about you. She doesn't _hate_ you Naruto," Her soft eyes returned to his hurt mirror-blues. "She was afraid of you."

Naruto slid down the wall and landed on the floor. His focus was distant and his heart felt broken. Nothing seemed right. "And how does she know?"

A swallow. "Every adult knew."

"Then," he stood back up and took a cautious step forward. "Why is _she_ afraid of me?"

Arabella acted anything _but_ afraid.

Isabelle sighed and looked away again. "She's afraid that you'll awaken and kill me."

He snapped his body forward, almost completely in half. It felt like he was struck.

No. Worse.

A tear rolled down his left cheek as he bit his lip.

Awaken.

They…_everyone_ was afraid that he would awaken and kill them. That's why everyone was so distant or malevolent. And who knows…they could be right. No, they were right, right? In order to keep all he held dear, safe, he'd have to live the life of a recluse. What about his new mom? Would he continuously have to wait for the shoe to drop? Would she treat him like the rest of the town when or if she found out?

Fists clenched as he growled.

If only he could **tear** something apart…

"You afraid of me?" he barked.

Isabelle smiled widely. "Nah, not of the town's tormentor. We knew each other all our lives. 'Sides, you saved my life today."

Then that was enough.

Naruto simply rose to his feet and walked to her direction. He kissed her forehead innocently, for the first time leaving _her _spluttering, and left the room.

She ran after him, "Naruto, what's the ma-."

Waving weakly behind himself, he strode down the steps not saying another word.

He walked down and back into the lobby in a whirlwind of emotion.

The first talker from earlier was still there, looking at him with a half sneer. "You look a little dejected. Did she drop you for a new one?"

Naruto stopped right in front of the insulter and slowly rolled his head into the talker's direction. "I finally found out why you people hate me. Speaking of which," blue eyes flashed and _stayed_ golden, "You won't say a fuckin' word about me finding out." The man's brow lifted, affronted at the correctly perceived insult.

The yellow balls became slits. "Second, I'm _very_ angry right now. In fact…" His hand blurred to older man's face sent the man to the ground, holding his shattered cheek.

Panicked eyes returned his golden ones.

Spittle flew with his fiery words. "If you, _or_ your friends ever insult _my_ friend again, I will rip you limb from limb and finding what would be best stuffed down your _gullet_." Undertones that promised death rung clear as the hell's toll bells. "You _will_ speak and treat Isabelle _and_ her mother with the utmost respect. Are we _crystal_?" The hiss was more reminiscent of rattler than a human's.

The man could only mumble in response.

Unwilling to not have the last word, the idiot nigh growled, even with shattered bone. "The town head will kill you brat. You raised your hand against one of the people." Naruto suppressed the instinct to tear out the man's throat as he rocked back and forth.

But then the blonde Claymore calmed down.

The blonde shrugged uncaringly. "Probably. No one will believe the yoma brat after all." His voice became smooth as silk and cold as ice. "_But then again_, if I went psycho, wouldn't I just _kill_ you or _awaken_ and kill _everyone?" _

He threw his head back and chuckled. "Sweet dreams."

As he walked out the door of the bathhouse, his gut unclenched.

He was at peace once more.

Well, not at peace, per se, but relieved. In a burnt out anger sort of way. It felt great to just let loose for once rather than _taking it_ like he normally did.

The Claymore child really wanted to kill him. It was too bad he didn't-…

Then his eyes widened with shock and guilt. Forearms wound themselves around his gut on their own volition.

What was he _saying_? He didn't want to _kill_ someone all over _words_? What was happening to him? _Why_ was this happening to him?

His nervous smile stayed with him the entire trip back home.

* * *

"Mom! I'm home, sorry it took so long!" He dropped his bag next to the door.

Akemi walked back into the living room, wiping her hands free from the remaining blood leaving only a slightly darker maroon over her pale skin. "It's no problem sweetie. So what were you doing the whole time?" She paced around Naruto and lightly sniffed. "My word Naruto, you smell like a brothel! I was just joking about necking with your girlfriend. What did you _do_? It actually smells like you did more than just talk…"

Naruto started explaining. "Huh? She just lives in the bathhouse."

"She works as a _whore_?" she asked, thoroughly mortified.

"A what?" He asked then proffered. "She cleans up and stuff. And her mom's the owner."

Akemi sighed slightly. "To have friends in such a place."

What the hell was she talking about? It was just a place where people cleaned up and spent time together.

He shrugged a shoulder. "She's my only friend."

Her eyes flashed with suppressed inquiry. "All right. Well, I'll believe that she's a nice girl, for now. It did take you a while to get back though…"

Naruto scratched behind his head and laughed nervously. "Well, I forgot my clothes at the orphanage, so I went back and said my proper goodbyes."

A slight nod was his answer. "Okay…Well that's good then. The food is ready as soon as you are." He started walking towards the kitchen. "Shoes off."

"Oh, heh heh!" his sandals plodded to the ground as he began his way to the kitchen. He could hear Akemi readjusting them slightly, for what, he didn't know. Probably just OC'ing and straightening it out.

He heard her voice call out from the living room. "I hope you're hungry."

He just popped into the kitchen as he answered. "Yeah, I'm actually-." A noxious odor sent him to his knees, dry gagging. It was like smoke, only more _sulphorous_ and bitter. It didn't burn in his lungs, but rather his _stomach_, making it churn all over again.

"What's that?" She asked. Naruto could hear quickened footsteps to his direction.

Immediately, he rose to his feet, pulled out a chair for her and for himself before curling into his. She entered at that exact moment. "I just said that I was only a little hungry."

She looked at him with an odd questioning expression before disappearing back into the kitchen area. Naruto had to bite his tongue to prevent a grimace or vomit from reaching the dinner table. Something wasn't right.

The food wasn't burnt at all…in fact, it looked visually appealing.

"Here you go." She laid a plate out in front of him before sitting in front of her own meal.

He now knew what that awful odor was.

The haggis.

Splitting it open quickly, Naruto spooned up a little and swallowed it whole. He lurched forward, bumping against the table as he did.

His stomach churned, and frankly, it tasted like shit. It was the worst haggis he had ever had.

"Are you all right Naruto?" Akemi was calmly eating her food with a small, sated smile.

"Yeah, I just started feeling sick all of a sudden."

Her eyes glinted curiously, before flashing back to normal. "It might be the type of meat that I used."

"What type _did_ you use?" He wiped the sweat from his brows as he rocked back and forth.

She gave an uncaring shrug. "I guess it could be the spices from my old home, they wreak havoc if you aren't used to it. By the way, you didn't tell me too much of where you went, nor the conversations."

Trying to keep his bile down, Naruto gave a hefty swallow before answering Akemi's questions. "Uh, I just said some goodbyes. Can I put this away in the ice box? I'm not feeling too swift."

"Sure."

At the acquiescence, he almost ran to the kitchen, and threw up as quietly as he could in the sink, then dumped the haggis in it.

Washing his face and rinsing his mouth, he continued on with a conversation piece. "Anyways, I said some goodbyes to the matron, and she gave me a reference to a blacksmith."

She looked somewhat surprised. "That's good, then you can visit her first thing tomorrow morning."

He added quickly, "Yeah, and I just told Isabelle that you adopted me. That's everything."

Akemi rose to her feet and picked up her plate while rubbing his upper back. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. It was good, I just don't know what happened." Was the proffered lie.

"Don't worry about it. I shouldn't save this if you feel so ill." She said as she brought it over to the sink and washed the leftovers down the drain. She said over her shoulder, "You should probably go to bed, it's late enough as it is and if you're fighting off a sickness, the more rest the better."

Naruto leaned over and nodded as he clenched at his guts. "You're right. Good night mom." He got up and Akemi kissed him on the top of his head.

"Sweet dreams."

He couldn't help his slight smile as he hugged her back. "No worries there. Same to you Mom."

Even though she had bad smelling meat on her, _she_ smelled…pretty good actually. It was probably weird thinking that way, but she did. She had this… soothing odor of sweetness, mixed with a flavor he couldn't quite place. She truly was unique. She had that pretty aura, she smelled good, _and_ she was really nice… so different than most humans.

Whatever flashes of emotion he may have thought she felt, must be glitches.

Wait…_humans_? Shit, he _already_ separated himself from humanity. His heart was human! Probably.

Maybe he thought differently than most people as well as had different attributes over them. He let go of his Mom at the thought and left the kitchen.

Briefly thinking it was odd that he felt better almost immediately. Nevertheless, he was still pretty exhausted and could think about it later.

Naruto halted in his step. He forgot something pretty important.

"Upstairs and to the left."

"Thanks mum." He slid up the steps quickly and opened the door aforementioned. He sighed with slight annoyance.

She yelled up the stairs again. "The lighter and candle is to your right."

He laughed heartily.

"Thanks!" he struck the match and held the flickering flame to the candle wick. The flame sputtered for a moment before pulsating a waxy odor. Naruto shook the flame out on his stick and checked out his room.

Twelve by twelve, wood floor and plaster walls. It had a nice cozy feel to it. The fabric on his bed was much smoother than the coarse sheets he was used to, it had _two_ pillows and a small shelf to his right.

He blew out the candle and crawled into bed with a smile.

Oh _hell_ yes.

Closing his eyes while yawning, the last Uzumaki reflected on his day and planned for tomorrow.

Wow. It really was a red letter day. He could only imagine what tomorrow would bring. A possible apprenticeship? Fricken _awesome_.

"Careful." A disembodied voice echoed in his black dreamworld.

"Huh?" He asked intelligently.

Red and yellow-.

There was a hissing sound at his door along with a scrape across the wood.

He snapped awake with a quick breath.

The world slowly sharpened around him and his ears pricked in the door's direction waiting for the noise. Was that a dream?

"Mom?" he whispered.

Nothing.

What kind of a crap dream was that? What time was it?

Choosing to use said time wisely, Naruto opened up his bag and began putting his belongings in order. As he did so, he felt the medal holly brush up against his chest. He rolled his eyes and fell to his knees at the side of his bed uttering a quick prayer like the matron always did. The blonde rose and continued unpacking.

The clothes were divided onto sections on his shelves, and, well that was everything. The completely imaginary deck of cards that Isabelle got him were stuffed inside the pillow casing, and the small, stuffed snake, that totally didn't exist, from the matron was placed between his bed and the wall. What was-? Ah the note.

He removed the paper from his tangible yet imaginary snake's tongue.

No time like the present to get crap done. Provided it wasn't, you know, too early.

He stealthily made his way down the steps, and slid near the doorway, putting on his sandals as fast as possible.

"You're up early Naruto." He jerked straight with surprise. His Mum was wearing pajamas and looking at him like he was crazy.

"Sorry, I just don't sleep long. What time is it?"

Tilting her head back, she looked through a door at a sun dial. "Five, well, I guess most shops are open by now. What time will you be back?"

Naruto shrugged his shoulders guiltily. "I don't know, it could be an hour, or more depending on if they accept me or not."

"Fair enough. Have something before you go." She called him to the kitchen to have his breakfast. A downed egg and sausage later and he was leaving again. "Take care and have fun."

Giving a faux salute he replied, "Will do!" He took off in the paper's general directions. Namely, the center of town.

Already the settlement was bustling with life. Rich and poor, young and old, male and female, of multiple colors as well. For once, perfect equality was in motion and it was a sight to see.

Colorful stands sought to attract attention to their goods and wares. General distance between yourself and another was limited to a two foot radius around, but bumping and accidents were all too common.

Most times, people were understanding of accidents. Other times, people got into arguments and fist fights over nothing. It was usually entertaining for him to just people watch; however he was here on a mission.

He stood in front of a shop with a sign containing a strange looking hammer resting on an anvil. He looked at the address one last time, and sure enough, he was in the right place.

Entering the shop, Naruto swallowed his nervousness, not knowing what to expect.

Knick knacks lined the walls. Some of which included tools such as scythes, wood axes, knives, nails and a large variety of woodworking tools and of course, fasteners. Very few basic weapons were present with absolutely no armor.

A deep, but feminine voice caught him off guard. "Can I help ya'?"

Naruto had to look up.

She stood at 6'2" in a full black apron covering her barrel chest with her arms crossed. Her hands were heavily calloused, while her arms…holy shit, the biceps alone _had to be_ sixteen inches. Her eyebrows were set firm at a slight angle that kinda made her look pissed off. Her cherry brown hair was cropped short with bangs about an inch over her sharp and measuring green eyes. Her face still had minimal baby fat on it with only a slight hollow to her cheeks, pursed n' thin lips and a slightly sloping nose.

Overall, he felt that he would not want to be up against her in a fight.

"You look pretty different yourself." The woman said. Her grin revealed one set of canines and caused dimples to form. The smith seemed pretty amused by his surprised expression. "Can I help you? Do ya' need to pick something up for your parents er somethin'?"

The embarrassed boy wore his emotions on his sleeve and nervously scratched behind his head. "Sorry ma'am-."

She grunted kindly. "Matilda. M'name's Matilda."

"Sorry, Matilda-san-."

She waved her hand sharply once, as she cut him off. "_Just_ Matilda."

"Sorry Matilda-s, erm, Matilda, I just don't have much experience around people and I get nervous around new ones I meet. I guess. Um, I'm here about applying for an apprenticeship."

Matilda quirked an amused eyebrow. "_Normally_, you introduce yourself first."

"S-sorry, -."

While her tone was somewhat gruff, it was also spoken gently. "First off kid, I'm not going to kill, harm, or otherwise maim you. We clear?"

"Yes, Matilda." He gave a quick head bow in respect.

"Good, now sorry for interrupting. What's your name?"

"Uzumaki Naruto. Well, maybe Kamiko Naruto now."

Her eyes dawned with comprehension as she heard the first name he provided. "I see…So you're interested in the blacksmithing trade?"

He nodded rapidly.

"Well that's good. Do you know much about it?"

He started rubbing his neck vigorously. "A little bit. Basically they make everything metal a village needs."

Matilda threw her head back as she laughed. After her guffaws died down to mere titters, she got down to business with a little bit of mirth in her eyes. "Nothing more than a basic knowledge then. Tell me kid, do you have an eye for things?"

He murmured under his breath. "I can see more than you."

She heard him.

"Well that's good. So you can tell between two differn' tones or items pretty easy? Say, between cherry red, and tomato red?"

He nodded hesitantly. Cherry red was darker, whereas tomato was more vibrant. Also, auras also had different shades and tones, for instance, her aura was a brighter blue than most as well as more expansive than most any other human he ever saw.

"Okay, are you afraid of fire?"

He shook his head in the negative.

"Good. Can you _become_ an object?"

Naruto gave a grin of his own. "Can I become?" He turned around and faced the blank wall. He rattled off her physical features effortlessly from memory and began another tangent. "You're cheerier than most think, you use your right hand the most, however you take a longer step with your left. Maybe you were trained by the Sisters to not be a 'devil's child'. You breathe through your nose with about sixteen breaths per minute. Oh, and one of your regular steps is about two-feet, six- inches."

"Hm." He turned to face her again and she looked somewhat impressed. "Good perception, how could you tell all of that?"

He was about to say something completely different than honesty. "I don't know. I just always had a knack for things like that. It's like I can _see_ it; it's mostly second nature to get that kind of information on anyone I want."

Her smile returned. "That's an…interesting capability. Okay, you are _perceptive_, but that doesn't mean you _became_. You still have to plan in your head from raw form to the final product, the troubles, solutions, materials, down to the type of fuel you're going to burn. But that, along with some other things, can be learned, understand?"

"Mhm!" he chirped.

She quirked an eyebrow and spoke firmly, "What's that? I can't hear your mumblin'."

His tone was clear the second time. "Yes Matilda."

"Good, one last question and it could make or break your 'ceptance."

He was nervous, but ready. Ready as he'd ever be, that is. "What is it?"

The woman smirked widely, "What's the matron's name?"

His face dropped. He heard it maybe all of five times within his stay. He couldn't believe that he couldn't remember something so memorable, he called her 'matron' all the time but her name was-

"Sibyl." He said firmly.

A devilish grin formed on her face. "I should ask for her last name, but I know you never heard it before. Good memory to yer name though. Time for your crash course, kid. C'mere." She walked over to the back of the shop and waved him back. "Hurry up, time's money and all."

Naruto ducked his head and followed after her and as soon as he entered the doorway, he stopped in awe.

_Stuff_ layered the shop in every crevice, corner, and flat space. The stuff either consisted of tools or metal.

Stiflingly hot air hit his face.

"We'll practice later, first the rundown. A'right, first up is the forge." She lumbered in the direction of a stove and rested an arm over it. "This baby heats up our metal to whatever the hell we want it. Either forging temps, or temp'rin' heat. I'll tell you more about temperatures later and the sweet spots to work in, but basically keep it in the reds;" her hand undulated up and down with emphasis, "If it starts sparking, you're too hot."

She tapped the top of the forge. "Near the end when you temper the blade, you use that." She lifted a finger from the stove to point at a wooden bucket with water. "Sometimes you use oil and it gives a little leeway to temps and the metal won't crack on you as much. Keep water nearby at all times, _especially_ when you run the oil over the blade."

The undertone to her next statement was highly threatening. "You don't want to burn down my business like some moron." She glared at him for a moment. "Second thought, stick with water for tempering." She pointed to some leather bellows with her toe. "Oh, and 'afore I forget, that's the temperature control. More air the hotter the fire, get it?"

Naruto nodded vigorously.

She padded up to a huge anvil with some holes on the opposite side of the horn. "Kay, this is the anvil. You sear the metal to a hell heat and bring it here where you continually beat the ever livin' crap out of it. The better the smith, the fewer the heat's you'll need."

She pointed to the spiky thing in front of the anvil. "The horn's for shaping the steel, these holes are for bending the metal, though specialized swages work better, and the flat surface is for general banging. Very useful." Before he could ask, she added, "Swages are blocks that are basically extra tools for your anvil. With them, you can bend, beat things at an angle, form piping, etcetera."

Matilda then touched a flat shelf on the anvil between the horn and the flat part where the beating was done. "I don't like using it for this, but you can use this section for hot cutting your steel."

She then lifted a tool from the solid metal structure. "But what good is an anvil if you can't touch the metal? That's where tongs come in. Keeps your hands scald free…essential to safety." She walked over to a wooden bench and beckoned Naruto closer. She lifted up a hammer with a square end on one side and a wedge formed by cutting off a right triangle.

"A'right. Now this baby is a hammer." She spun the hammer in her hand and pointed to the flat end. "My hammer."

"This is for general beating and smoothing metal out," she spun the hammer once more and pointed to the wedge. "This, is for lengthening the metal. In short you start banging with this, flip, and bang till you got it to the size you want. Then sharpen an' smooth the metal if necessary. This side is also good for welding the two joints together." She placed it respectfully next to the tongs. "Never forget that these tools are your _life_. Don't abuse 'em or I'll beat _you_ with them."

He nodded fearfully.

She strode up to some slabs of metal with cuts in them. "These are molds, they will be the bulk of your work, add melted metal in here from the crucible over there and you get some nice spikes, arrow an' bolt heads, utensils, and general low quality tools. Granted, a customer can request custom made things but those are much more expensive." She pointed to some more hand tools one by one. "Here 're some bits for cutting holes in deep metal, and punches to penetrate thinner steel. If you didn't get it right the first time, first of all, shame on you, but these drifts can usually fix it by makin' the hole larger or cleaner_._"

She picked up a sledge hammer resting on the side of the bench. "My favorite, mostly because it is _bad ass_. You will make steel your bitch with this. However, never use this on my anvil. You'll probably break it or dent it."

Then put it down to reach for the axe next to it. "This is for cutting wood which you will need for some of your products. Clean it up with a chisel, then sell it fer' handles and such." She swiped part of the workbench clear and sat on top of it, and grabbing a stool and placing it in front of her she ordered. "Sit down." Naruto did.

"Next is about metal." Her hands grasped the edge of the bench as she leaned back on it slightly. "We work with hard and soft metals. There's a tradeoff to both. Soft steel bends easily, sharpens easy, dulls easy, but doesn't break easy. Hard steel is tough to bend, it stays sharp but doesn't sharpen quickly, an' depending on how hard it is, it may become brittle and snap."

Nodding, she soldiered on, "Sometimes heating it up to make it brittle will be necessary to cut some pieces off, but as a final product you do _not_ want that." A scoff marred the air, "Last thing I need is someone missin' an arm tellin' me their scythe snapped."

Naruto paled nervously.

"Finally, there are certain ways to make items. You can pour melted steel in molds which is quick and cheap, but not always the best quality, as unwanted aeration is always possible. Then there is the process of forging where you beat the metal into form. _Always_ forge items that require quality, such as a farmer's scythe and plow, or a townsman's weapons or tools on which they rely their life upon."

She picked up a nearby knife that wasn't yet complete, and ran a finger down its smooth edge. "Remember to keep the spine of the blade soft with the sharpened edge hard. It makes a knife or sword more durable. Speaking of which, that's partially why Damascus steel is so desired, because the steel is alternated between hard and soft, an' having some of the strengths of both. It loses its value as soon as there is a smidgen of rust though. When there is rust, it will, _unravel_."

"Alright, enough of that. It'll be a little while before you can learn more." Clapping her hands together and Matilda then hopped off the bench. "Hope you've had your rest. Because now…" Standing over him menacingly, she cracked her knuckles to add to the effect. "You're learning strength training. Drop down and give me as many as you can, meaning till it feels like your arms are falling off."

He fell to his face and started.

"Lemme' tell you a little story on my claim ta' fame. I got some high steel for a spare bera I had, no idea why, it was just somthin' poking at me."

He was pumping off ten with little to no problem.

"And I got the strangest idea to craft something out of it.

"So then I slammed the metal down on the table, hammerin' and poundin 'er for all I could stand. Not even hot metal, can you imagine the difficulty?"

Then twenty pushups came about and he felt a searing burn. By the time he got to twenty-five he begged God for death, and at thirty he could no longer push himself any further.

"I still carry 'er in my sheathe. Best knife I ever made."

"Aooh." He groaned and fell face first on his thirty-seventh.

"Need help up." He could hear the smirk in her voice.

"Ugh." She grabbed him by the scruff and lifted him up.

He uttered a quick 'thanks' via a mumble.

"You're welcome. After I teach you a little bit about business and smithing, you'll pound out as many pushups as you can, and you'll be able to go home after I quiz you. Once you can do one hundred of them, I'll teach you some sword fighting techniques to understand blades and how they work a li'l better and _then_ once that's done we'll work on making things. Got it?"

"What?" He'd have to do _what_ before working? What the hell?

"Look, I can do three hundred, one armed at an incline. Now…" She could read his expression like a book. "If you can't even lift your arms, how're you ever gonna lift a hammer?"

He was quickly seeing her point.

Nevertheless, she redressed him kindly. "You still did well for your age, most kids, depending on their activity level, would only be able to do a handful." She ruffled his hair like most people seemed to be doing as of late. Really, what was with his thick, luxurious, an' golden hair? "By the time you're ready for blacksmithing, you'll be able to do a hundred one handed as well as standing on one hand doin' half as many."

"Aww ma-."

She tilted her head back and offered him a way out. "Do you want to quit? 'Cause if so, leave now."

He didn't think twice. "No. It's just you're willing to teach me, and you're a damn good teacher thus far. I'm just worried it's going to take forever to get there. Don't want you dying on me."

"Flattery is a sin you know."

"Compliments aren't." He felt pretty smug at that moment in time.

"Idle words are."

"Hn."

"Hm." They stared with mock annoyance at each other. "See you tomorrow at first cock crow. Don't be late."

This time, he had a smirk of his own. "I won't be."


	3. Chapter 3

Pretend chapter 3

AN:

Alright, aged Naruto about a year (fifteen, nearing sixteen) changed Rubel's motivations a little bit, and tried to polish what I did previously. Again, this was kind of inspired by Prototype, so, yeah. Hope you like it.

As always, may God and Jesus bless you, and if you haven't, accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. He saved me and my family, and He wants you on His side. That is the most single important decision you can ever make. He's the only Way to God. He was tortured and died to pay for our debts, and all we have to do to tap into His wondrous work, is to confess with our mouths that He's Lord, and believe in our hearts that He's resurrected.

Onto another important note, there's a political debate that hasn't quite died down yet, and that's over guns. I think we all know that the reason behind this so called "assault weapons ban" and it's not to save lives. If it's not obvious to you, which is possible, I didn't even know the extent to the control, there's a brutal, but very true video documentary called "Innocents Betrayed." Check it out.

Be safe and be cautious my friends.

AN Update:

Keep the Boston marathoners in your thoughts and prayers. I can't imagine what they're going through, and they're all going to need as much help as we can give.

Posted:

4/15/2013

* * *

"Eighty-nine." Naruto stared at the dirt floor, no. Glared at it with determination flooding his sky-eyes. He pushed himself up with perfect form, flat as a board, and a huff that blew the dirt away from his face. Pausing for a moment on his full extension, he lowered himself once more.

"A good anvil is comprised of what?"

"Tool steel." Ninety. He grunted and lowered himself again. "Wrought. Flat surface, makes a resounding, grr." Ninety-one. "Ping!"

Ninety-two.

"Good. Now when you run your own business, diversify. Find a source, and find another, and another." Matilda leaned up against the wall, watching her apprentice with a measure of pride. "What else should you do?"

His face twitched with exertion, as sweat poured from his reddening face. Ninety-five. "Get materials as on the cheap as possible, though from a reputable source," he growled lowly, "that treats their employees well."

"And why's that?"

"Better material, cheaper rate, and cheaper overall, graah!" He pistoned himself up to full extension. Ninety-nine. "Price for the customer!" He blurted, and fell flat on his face.

He was so close. Clenching the dirt under his fingers, he lifted his face angrily, though not towards his boss.

"One more before we start on the principles of combat, and simple blacksmithing. Very good Naruto."

He looked at her with surprise.

"Your form was off a little bit, you were exerting yourself more than necessary. I'll fix it tomorrow, but give me one more, and we'll start on the other principles tomorrow."

While his arms shook, he fell to his face, and exerted one final pushup.

He lowered himself, then slowly rose to his feet, exhausted.

"Not bad timing all in all. Took you only a few months to get to this point." She leaned back with a smirk. "That was your birthday present, by the way."

He snorted with amused surprise. "Thanks."

"I'll be merciful with your pushups, but in your smithing, and in your bladework, you'll be begging me to be." He looked up at her hard green eyes. "I mean it. It will be brutal, and I will not go easy. If you can't defend yourself, you're asking to not only get robbed and get killed, but worse, potentially watch someone dear to you die. Doing your smithing improperly yields potentially fatal results for yourself and clients, so the same thing applies. Got it?"

"Yes Matilda."

"Good." She smacked him on the side of the arm. "Now get going. Enjoy yourself for the rest of the day. You work the altar tomorrow."

He smiled with pride, feeling he had accomplished his first hurdle.

Winning was just as great as he imagined. Nodding to her, he strode out the door, and huffed out a breath, taking a look around town.

The markets were running in full motion, colored dresses were passed back and forth. Coins were exchanged, and goods were passed.

His blue eyes lit up when he watched a father passing his daughter a large red apple, much to her exclaimed joy. Even the merchant had a prideful smile on their face as the sun itself danced off of the red sheen.

Wiping his face with the back of his forearm, he took a few steps down the stairs, and grinned. He'd have a place in society. Claymore in blood or not. He genuinely felt that they'd warm up to him eventually.

The smirk broadened.

He'd win.

Treading towards his home, he wondered if Akemi returned yet.

Every week or so, she'd be gone for a day or two to go to another town to pick up cattle to bring back home. The townsfolk seemed to prefer how she prepared her meats, as she aged them a week or so, before actual distribution.

The meat was tender, tasty, and terrific with salt and pepper. The people were generally willing to part with a little extra money for this extra work, and Akemi was pleased with the income. Every now and then, she'd ask his help to hang up cattle on their hooks, or carve up the ribs and meat into slabs.

She liked his work, and would slip him a little extra money that he could use for whatever he wanted. Instead, he was saving up to buy something special for her and Isabelle.

And getting a bon-bon every once and a while.

Better yet, with his help, she was able to expand a little into the other nearby towns. Overall, her arrival, and stock, were a success for them.

A bright smile crossed his semi-pale face when he saw the covered wagon pulled up on the cobblestone street in front of his home. He spoke gently at a distance so as to keep the four horses calm as he approached. Cooing, he stroked the mandible of his favorite horse, a white destrier, the strongest, fastest and most agile breed of them all. Currently, the horse had a bit in his mouth, and strap around its chest leading to the carriage, yet still it whinnied with approval.

"Gotta go buddy. I'll feed ya' later." Giving a final stroke, he left towards the back of the covered wagon. Looking inside, he noticed that there were no cattle hanging from the upper rails, even though the floor was stained from their previous presence.

He twitched his head to the side, and noticed a sizable box near the back of the cart, closest to the rider. It wasn't nailed down, and he hadn't seen it before. Maybe Mum wanted it in the house, or the butchery bay.

Hopping up into the back, causing the scenery to rock slightly, he strode forward. As he did, the closer he got to the box, the sicker he felt. Turning his face and holding his nose, he shook his head, trying to readjust. Eyes burning, and watering, he moved closer and closer to the box, the noxious odor nearly having him spasm with sickness.

What the hell was in this?

He reached for the lid when he heard.

"Don't." He never heard that tone.

It was pissed.

He turned around to see his mother. "Mum! I was just-." He shot a thumb to the box, hating himself for losing a guard for his nose.

"I don't care. I unloaded everything already." She tilted her head a little forward and to the side, guarded and measuring. Her eyes narrowed to match. "I found a dead deer on the road already half eaten, maybe by yoma. Come on down." She stepped to the side, and waved an arm to get him out of the back.

Oh.

"Sorry I was late, I should ha-."

"Don't worry about it." She held up a hand, though her features were hard set. He disappointed her.

"I'm sorry."

"You've seen a lot of blood son." She rested a hand on his shoulder. "But that was just brutal. You'd never touch a deer or cattle again." She grinned widely and swung her hair back from around the other side of her head. "Can't have that. Now get inside and start working on the ribs."

"Yes Mum!"

He never felt the eyes locked on his back as he left.

A few hours passed over the meat, making sure it was hung right, cleaned off from the extraneous debris, and pulled others from their hooks to start helping Akemi slice them up. Occasionally, he looked from the meat he was cutting, expecting her presence soon.

When twenty or so minutes went by, and there was still no sign of her, he got worried. Hammer dropping his knife into the cutting board, he rinsed his hands off in a nearby bucket of water, and stepped outside.

It had been more than twenty minutes. More like a couple hours. It was already getting darker. He checked the carriage, and found that the lid to the box he was checking out, was flipped open.

He was about ready to head inside, until he had a stroke of curiosity hit him. What could a yoma do? Did they have claws or something?

Hopping in the back once more, he cautiously inched forward, lifting his head up slightly, so as to see some of the innards of the container. When he couldn't see anything, he stepped closer...and closer, until he saw the bottom.

While his gut still churned in illness, he only saw a large puddle of blood at the bottom, and seeping into the wood. Lifting his head back as the tension released him, he decided to hop back down and check for Akemi inside the house.

"Mom?" He called out when he opened the front door. He ducked lightly when he heard a thud upstairs. Was she not able to hear him? Was she hurt? Running up the stairs, he shot down the hallway, and slammed his mother's door open.

His chest clenched as he hyper-ventilated. He thudded to the floor and crab crawled his way backwards as fast as he could possibly managed, fast enough to hit the wall behind him with a thud.

It was a man, brown eyes splayed wide open, gripped with fear. His mouth was stuck, paralyzed, no doubt begging for his life within this day's span. His forehead was cracked open wide, brains missing. His arms were sprawled out on the tile floor.

The lower half of his body was completely separated, as he couldn't even tell if the man had legs at one time. As horrifying as some of the remnant colon and spin that was sticking out from the stump, that isn't what had him locked.

Akemi...if that...if that even _was_ Akemi... Had a...had the human body laying in front of her. Her black mane was covering the man's torso like a sheet, but Naruto could tell, no doubt, that her muzzle was eating every organ on her way to the spine.

Her body was more rigid, more muscular than he ever saw her, even her stature seemed to be a foot taller.

He swallowed, as tears filled his eyes when her teeth were locked on intestines, and pulled upwards with delight. Her hazel eyes, gold eyes now, locked onto his fearful form as her hunger paused for a second.

Blood covered her mouth, and fleshy bits flecked her face.

The beast sat back on its haunches.

"Yoma." He whispered.

Naruto compulsively threw himself to the side and vomited, when he saw the tubular organ hanging from her teeth, and the stench he now associated with human death. When she pulled it in with an elongated tongue, veins on her cheek throbbing with delight, revealing lips that were thinner, wider, more _primal_ then he had ever imagined on his mother's face...

He threw himself to his feet, and ran. He slammed into the side wall as inertia's laws dictated, and rushed down the steps with as much speed as he could muster.

He reached a hand out to the brass door handle to the front door, only to have it clasped with a vise grip. Opening his mouth to scream, sharp and elongated fingernails dug into his cheeks, as her palm shut his mouth.

He threw his body back and forth, writhed, screamed into her hand, hoping upon hope that someone, anyone come to his rescue.

When he decided to look at his mother, Akemi, with pleading eyes, he was shocked.

And afraid.

She was just staring at him with soulless eyes, her face the picture perfect representation of apathy. She pursed her lips together, stuck a pink appendage through the side of her mouth, and slid it into an oval, using her tongue to wipe up the blood.

Audibly swallowing, she hummed in pleasure.

He sobbed harder, helplessly.

Hopelessly.

When she saw the eyes of the victim, she grinned, her eyes glinting maliciously. "**Do you comprehend the futility****?**** You **_**are**_** the weakest one I've ever fought**," she leaned forward, her veiny cheek pressed to his as she whispered, **"Yet, it's so **_**invigorating**__." _Her rancid breath puffed at the word.

He turned his neck to the side, and flinched when he felt a nose press to it and inhale.

"**The fear. Delicious**." She ran her rough tongue up the side, and trailed his jaw, causing him to clench his eyes shut tight, hoping for a quick end, or hoping to wake up from this nightmare.

His heart pounded in his chest when she pulled back a little, thin smile still in place. "**The only thing I'm having a tough time deciding on, is whether or not I should kill the matron and your teacher in front of you**."

His eyes widened disbelievingly, as they met hers.

She trailed a finger up the side of his neck where she licked, and watched as it dimpled skin. "**Or should I enjoy your presence first**." Her wicked smile widened still. "**Maybe in front of that whore-child Isabelle.**" It caught his attention. "**And while you're dying slowly, I can repeat the same to her**."

He went from fearful to enraged in a split second. She raised her eyebrows as she saw the change in his body language. "**Oh? Strike a chord did I?"**

His face locked into a wild fury, as his fist paled from tightening.

Whack!

He launched a punch with all of his might, rocking her entire body to the side, and sending her to her knees, mouth dripping blood on the floor below her.

When her golden eyes looked up and saw wide silver eyes boring through her, she whispered. "**Claymore**..."

Whack!

Another punch connected, sending the two hundred pound behemoth flat on her back, and sliding across the floor. She chuckled as she rocked to her side, and stared up at the approaching boy. She looked down.

Naruto prowled forward, fists at his side, and clenched to the max.

He twisted his upper body to the right, stepped forward and lifted up a powerful right, ready to obliterate her face from the planet.

His face slackened as she turned her head back up again.

Akemi's face, without the veins, without the rage, without-.

In _tears?_

He looked her up and down.

She wasn't any taller than when he met her.

"Naruto?" She asked, her voice tore him to his core, as her bruised face stared back at him. "Why are you doing this?"

He swallowed and stared, but she-! She was-!

Was he hallucinating? Had he been hallucinating? Did he hurt his mother without cause?

"Mo-? Gurk!"

A hand locked around his throat and slammed him into the ground, making an impression of him and his struggling form on the floor. She knelt on both of his arms, locking him down.

He was too weak.

"**Oh you **_**are**_** a little bastard when you want to be**." Her teeth were dripping green sludge as her smile pressed wider. "**But if this is the extent of your strength Claymore**," She leaned forward, closer to his face. "**I remain unimpressed**." She squeezed her fingers tighter, cutting off his airway. "**Why were you disgusted then, with eating human flesh, it should have been all the more palatable**."

She stared into his reddening face, unapologetic. "**Hm. **_**Now**_** what should I do with you? I thought I adopted a human child, at which point, I would just eat them, and play the sorrowful mother**."

"**But**..." He rocked his head back and forth, trying to break free.

"**Should I kill your friend, then you? **_**Hm?**_** Should I**?" He mouthed his demand. "**Hm**?" She loosened her grip on his throat.

"No! Please no! I'll do anything."

He was just too weak.

"**Anything**?" As soon as she reiterated that word, she grinned maniacally. **"I **_**love**_** that word. Do you know your place and the utter impossibility of resisting me is?**"

He clenched his eyes shut, exhaled in a shudder, sharply and mournfully.

Then nodded.

"**Then in return for not only **_**generously**_**, sparing your life, hers, and some of your townspeople, I expect you to do what I say, when I say it**." She stared at him hungrily. "**Understand**?"

"Yes." The word shook free from him.

"**Excellent**." She lifted herself off of him, and stared down at him commandingly. "**I hold a side job. One that you **_**will**_** help me with, or I'll start killing off your friends one, by, one.**" She had a delighted voice.

He nodded quickly, under duress.

Her smile reached her eyes, as she shortened, and her face normalized. He could hear the torsion of her flesh as she smiled. "**I have a **_**Claymore **_**under my thumb**." She grabbed under his chin, and lifted him to his feet, speaking in an oily voice. "**Now provided you keep this little agreement, there's no reason we can't live well together**."

His eyes lifted sharply from her hand holding him up, to her eyes.

* * *

Matilda brushed her blackened leather boots, before her her green eyes rested on the blonde.

She leaned back on her brick walls, and crossed her arms over her chest, measuring him.

He seemed different today. Harder. He didn't even call out how many pushups he had done, and he was breaking into the eighties. His veins were more distended than usual, though his eyes weren't colored any different.

Like Kushina.

He huffed lightly as he pushed himself harder and harder.

When he first arrived, he was deathly quiet, pale, and squinting like he ate a lemon. She saw him going frequently to the sink to rinse his mouth out, and his face. The way he rubbed at his hair, scratched it like he was trying to reach bone, spoke of some underlying rage. He also seemed to be mulling something over.

There was something wrong. Was it finally talking to him like it did his mother?

He was past a hundred, now. He lost count, or wasn't paying attention.

She would have to keep an eye on him.

"Good job, apprentice. Stand." He did so, in almost military fashion. It unsettled her. Was he a natural born Claymore? "Very good. Better than I expected. Take a drink, and when ya' get back, we'll talk shop safety."

Nodding once, he gave a few pumps to the hand well, rinsing his head, and patting himself on the chest with the remnants.

"Come here." She gestured towards him. He needed his space, but if he kept on like this, she'd have to press to see what was going on. She knelt down next to her anvil and gestured for Naruto to do the same.

"When you look at my floor, what do you see?"

He checked around, tilting his head from side to side occasionally, and then settled on one word. "Dirt."

"Which means?"

He stared into her with flat blue eyes. They didn't even have the mischievous glint she had seen a mere day ago. When he didn't even say anything, he just stared at it, seemingly trying to come up with an answer.

So she answered, "It won't light up."

Come on! You're smarter than this!

"Oh."

"And what else?"

He regarded her with those same eyes his father had when she first met him.

But didn't reply.

She sighed. "The floor's clear o'erwise. It's clean, so you won't trip while handlin' hot metal."

Matilda rose to her full height, causing Naruto to do the same.

Should she ask?

No. He'd work it out.

"Get ta' stretching." Scratching her chest, she thought that maybe he got into an argument with his mother the first time. Didn't know how to take it probably. That's how she felt when she was first adopted.

When he finished stretching lightly, she addressed him again.

"Come un'." She ushered him over to her workbench and reached for a practice sword. This was a surefire way to get his mind off of something. At least it always worked on his father.

She handed it to him, and grabbed her own.

"Alright, le's get ta' somethin' manageable in your self-piteous state." She grinned at him, even when he flashed her an angry glower. Least he had some passion. She'd start with something easy to get his confidence back up. "Now why do you want to build a house from the ground up?"

He looked at her like she had three heads. "There's no other way?"

"And why is it important to have a foundation of something solid?"

He answered immediately. "Otherwise the house will collapse at the nearest sign of bad weather?"

"Exactly. Which is why we'll start with footwork."

His eyes consumed her every move.

"Give me what you think a good stance would be." She lead him on.

He simply shifted his weight a little bit and rose his blade at waist height. He never really saw anyone draw a sword in front of him before.

She smirked as she lifted her blade, and pressed it into his chest one handed. He was unsure of what to do, or how to take it.

Until she pushed.

Stumbling backwards, Naruto barely caught his balance before he hit the wall of her shop, where the tongs were. "What the hell!" His eyes flashed silver, causing her to readjust her stance more seriously . He was _really_ on edge today.

"Your feet point the direction of where you'll fall and your weak points. If I'd'a pressed my advantage like I normally would'a, you'd be dead."

He tossed his blade down, and threw his hands up. "Whatever! You didn't even tell me what to do."

"Hey!" She barked. "I'm taking up my valuable time teaching you the ropes, either show respect." She rigidly pointed to the door. "Or leave."

The way he twitched almost shocked her. For a moment, she thought he would've taken up on the offer. But, he wasn't a _quitter. _Right?

She couldn't take it anymore, she didn't want to risk it. "Or tell me what's eating you." He twitched at 'eating'.

He mumbled some response.

"What?" She couldn't hear too well anymore.

"Said 'm sorry." He echoed a little louder. "It's just, Akemi wants to teach me her trade, so I'll be gone more days than not."

She snorted. That's what was botherin' him? "You're learning earlier than most kids your age. Don't let it bother ya'. On the days you're here, we'll spend more time together, and I'll set up my work days to be on the days you're gone."

He looked up, shocked at her more than generous compromise. Those two were her best damn friends on the planet, she'd be damned if their kid would be left high and dry. Had she grown the stones earlier, she would've been the kid's foster parent. Akemi was a better one though, more refined than herself.

"Really?" He had a glint of...hope?

"Yeah, really. What days will you be gone?"

"Wednesday through Sunday."

Her brownish eyebrows leapt to her forehead. That long? "What about your serving at Church?"

He looked down and clasped his hands together in a submissive position. "I won't be."

Matilda blinked. There was something going on here. The flesh he had on him, just might be the answer. Akemi wouldn't take him out of town that often- unless...

Unless of course, Akemi wanted an heir, or otherwise didn't want him to keep having the negative experiences with the townspeople.

She sighed as she rubbed her brow.

Probably not a bad idea on her part. She was a thoughtful mother indeed.

"Alright kiddo, you're just going to have to work real hard on Monday 'n Tuesday."

"I will!" His firm, resolute expression brought a smile to her face.

"Good. Now that I told you what needs to be done, readjust to how you think you should be angled."

She got into a stance, one leg facing forward, one pointed to the side. She crouched down slightly, blade raised like a bat, but held with the tip facing him.

A shiver rolled up her spine when Naruto copied her precise move in such an uncanny manner, that she thought she was looking at a picture perfect hanging-point stance. She couldn't even make suggestions on changes in his form.

"Why is that a good stance?" She asked.

He thought for a second before he uttered, "'Cause you're doing it? I feel kinda' balanced though."

A smile wormed to her face. So he could imitate perfectly, just not have an understanding of why it was effective. "Good. Now let me try what I did earlier." And this time, when she pressed the blade in his chest, he was a lot more stable and resisted motion. "Excellent." She took a step backward. "Now take a step forward."

He did, but she pushed him over with a quick tap of her blade. "Alright, you got your first stance down pretty well, but when you walk, you have to maintain that stability, or _that_," she pointed at his downed form, "will happen."

He nodded slowly, then picked up speed as he processed it.

"Footwork remains the single most importan' part of sword fightin'."

Standing up, he readied himself in the same, perfect copy stance that she did earlier.

Fast learner.

"Try it again."

He stood up, and tried a different footfall.

She pushed him over, "Again! This time, don't cross your legs. Think of your balance at all times."

He tried again.

"No! Keep your feet close to the ground in case you have to put them down in a hurry. Again."

And again.

It took a little more to press him to the ground. "Better." But not by much. "You're still lifting your legs too high. Be like a horse in its stability."

And _again._

"Your feet are connected to the ground by a chain. Good! Good! That's it."

* * *

His eyes were locked on the scenery to the right of their shared cart. The yoma was _kind _enough to give him a couple weeks grace period before she decided to teach him the ropes. What was odd, save for the occasional threat to keep quiet, and the...the...

He could physically feel his heart breaking.

Shaking his head he lifted it defiantly.

Their life was otherwise, fairly similar to the way it was before. Just quieter.

Though, day by day, he could sense the yoma's willingness to hide its nature from him grew increasingly short. Likewise, living with a creature that ate a _human being_ in front of him, threatened him, and manipulated his emotions..was disgusting to say the least.

He had a feeling it had something up its sleeve, and that's why it was being quiet around him. His gut told him that he was about to find out this trip. Resting his head on his shoulder, he couldn't help but wish he never found _that_ out about her. Until that night, he actually had family he would die for. Now...

Now he was just an orphan all over again.

Green flashed by, as their horses pulled them forward, bumping across the gravel path they were following.

"It's about twenty minutes from the town we're headed to, fleshbag." He turned half heartedly to see her face as she addressed him. "If you say anything, anything at all." She chuckled lowly. "Well, you'll see."

Completely bored, he turned back to watching the scenery blur around him. Yeah, he knew. They'd be eaten, blah, blah, blah. He couldn't wait to run her through to the _bone_. Then life would return to normal. But until then, he had to play along with whatever plan she had.

Gradually the trees became sparser, as the sight of cleared and partially cleared homesteads became more frequent.

What would she want him to do?

She whipped the harness to make the horses move a little faster.

How had he been so fleeced? How come he didn't put two and two together that her aura was evil.

"We're here sonny." She called out over the galloping trot of the horse. "Welcome to my hunting grounds."

She turned the cart so as to avoid hitting pedestrians gathering from the well in the center of town. But Naruto's eyes weren't locked on them at all.

This town, was _big. Hewn s_tone arches comprised doorways, and the buildings themselves were three levels high. Sure, the gray was a little depressing, but most of his home-town were made of bricks made from clay, or would, and so they couldn't be stacked as high, or as safely as carved stone slabs! The work involved was incredible!

His eyes were wide with fascination as they passed an arch that linked two housing compounds together. That alone was taller than ninety percent of his home's architecture. The years, the _manpower_!

The yoma next to him pulled the reins, causing the horses to grind to a halt in front of a church. "Tell the head priest to organize the others for tonight's market." She stared at him angrily. "Go, hurry it up!"

He hopped down from the cart, punched the wooden door open, and strode through. He looked down at the marble he was trodding on, and the wooden pews at his sides, the perspective leading him straight down the middle.

When he lifted his head, he saw a cross. He knelt down in the center of the aisle. "God. Jesus. Anyone." He blinked harder as his breath shook. "I need some help fighting some demons." He swallowed. "Please." He gave a slight head tilt and said, "Thanks."

When he got up, he saw a minister staring at him thoughtfully. "What do you need son? Do you wish to confess your sins?"

The priest also had a red aura, a little lighter than Akemi's. Plus, he smelled like a fresh slab of steak.

He sighed.

"Screw you yoma," it reeled back in surprise. "She says to organize the others for tonight's market."

If he didn't know it before, he would have known it when its grin stretched beyond human capability. "**Interesting, letting a human into the fold. That is...interesting. So are you tonight's **_**special**__?"_

He glowered at it. Whatever the hell that meant. "No. I'm relaying news."

Its grin stretched even wider. "**Shame, you look tasty! Tell that delicious beast of a woman, that it shall be done as she has asked**." He licked its lips. "**We'll move onto the next town when she's ready**."

Naruto tensed. Next town? He was quiet for a moment.

Passionate aggression brewed inside of him. He had to stop this somehow. He had to fight somehow! Or else the yoma would eat someone else's Isabelle. Someone else's Matilda. These people should n-

Suddenly, he was struck with an idea. "Do yoma have names?"

"Huh?" It asked him, voice returned to normal. "In what manner do you mean?"

"Like real names, to address each other."

"Why yes, but we don't share that amongst humans." It's greasy tone made him want to vomit.

"I'm not just any human, I'm her adopted son." He shared. "So what's Akemi's real name? I'd like to surprise her, by addressing her by her real name."

It chuckled mischievously, "Oh that devil doll? Her real name is Akane. At least that's what she told us a few months back."

Back when he was adopted, hm? "Thanks. I'll let her know you were _extra_ helpful."

"Of course mortal! She will be most pleased."

He left without another word, went straight to the cart and hopped in.

"So?" Akemi inquired.

"He said he'd do it. I had to interrupt some meeting though, between him and someone else."

"Oh?" She asked then looked at him.

He had to play this just right. Something that he was very good at. Shrugging his shoulders, he watched the horses in front of him roll to a slow gallop. "Nothing much, just saying that he didn't think Akane-chan was cut out for the job or something. Must'a been something to do with the Church." Acting ignorant was a good course of action, as if she was simply addressing a priest instead of a yoma.

The way she twitched, and her face set to something so beautifully, thoughtlessly angry, made him almost shiver with pleasure at the ensuing double-cross.

"Anything _else?"_

"Nah." He waved her off. "Just that he thought that it'd be easy."

"Oh? We'll see then." She looked at him a little differently. "Seems you won't be taught acquisition tonight, but instead, defending one's territory."

He shrugged. "Okay."

After they arrived at a hotel, Akemi told him to rent a room for two while she stabled the horses. He did, and while he was waiting inside the room, he decided to nap for a little while. He had to be alert and deceptive tonight to nail at least one yoma's hide to the wall.

When he woke up from the bed, he saw Akemi staring straight at him from a nearby chair. He scratched his chest and asked, "So when are we going?" It already looked dark out.

"Are you certain you heard Charles right?"

Naruto furrowed his brow, as if he was thinking. "Yeah, why, it's no big deal, right?"

She didn't answer him. "Let's go."

Following her closely, he mulled it over. Was he caught in the lie? Is that what she was doing while he was sleeping?

The cart was ready and waiting outside, even though it was pitch black. So he got in the prepared cart on his side, and Akemi got in the rider's seat and lit the lantern next to her. Without another word, she smacked the horses into motion.

Both were dead quiet as they rode down the empty street, flooding the cobblestone with a ball of yellow.

When he turned to look at her, he saw that she was hard pressed in all manners, the glimmer of light only exacerbating her seriousness. Her face was hard, aggressive, and simmered with quiet fury, even her stance, grip, and body language spoke of ensuing pain. But for him, or the yoma was the only question.

This time, they got further, and further, and _further _away from the town, into a remote part of the forest. He tried to remain calm, but when she pulled off the side of the road, and onto a lesser path, he knew. He knew he was dead.

Sighing, he rested into his chair, thinking on how he was going to escape. Or should he just let it come?

He weakly formed a fist. He was too powerless to fight against this creature.

But he lifted his head and prayed for strength. He had to be strong for his people, his home.

He held on tighter to his seat as he was jostled uncomfortably from side to side, up and down. After about a ten minute's trot in, she pulled to the side, next to a blazing campfire. She hopped down, nary a word, and Naruto followed after her and sat right next to the fire, letting the orange glow bask over him.

The crackling danced in his ears, as the smoke filled his lungs. He held out his hands to the radiating warmth as it touched his fingertips. His nose burned pleasantly as he inhaled the warm pine.

The bone blonde's eyes flashed silver as he heard weighty footfalls approaching from the woods, causing the horses to whinny uncomfortably. He grit his teeth tight and maintained his eyes on the fire.

"**Ohoh! You brought a live one this time, Akane-san**." A yoma dropped its disguise of an artist, in lieu of its true form. A hulking green beast, no less than eight feet tall, with ripped musculature, and veiny surface structure.

"**He is not to be eaten by any of you. If anyone will consume his flesh, it will be **_**me**__."_ Akemi shot back, defensive of her property. "**You wouldn't believe the paperwork involved**."

"**Fine fine, but where's the food**?" Another yoma, a stone mason as evident by the apron coated in shards of rock. Unlike the other one, he shrunk into a fatter yoma, still with veins, though a more purplish hue to his color.

Naruto turned his blue eyes towards his mother, just as 'Charles' arrived.

"**This is about a traitor**." Akemi finished, transforming into her true form, and gold eyes accusing.

There was light talk amongst them, and Naruto almost broke out in laughter at how human they seemed.

"**Who**!" The stone-yoma demanded.

"**Fleshbag.**" He was the one being addressed, so he turned to Akemi, no, _Akane's_ true form.

He grunted in response.

"**Show me who was talking earlier**."

He pointed to 'Charles', still in priestly garb and still non-transformed. "Him. I don't recognize any of the others."

Charles, the suckup that he was, was unsure of what exactly was going on. "**What exactly are you accusing me of, human**?" He was furious with the Claymore. "**And** **are you really going to believe one of them, over **_**me,**_** sister dear? They want us all dead**!"

Akemi growled low, "**Sister implies familiarity you never had**." She rose to a full standing position, and her hands became more claw-like. "**And that did cross my mind, but how exactly did he know my **_**true**_** name**."

Charles' eyes widened before they snapped to Naruto. He ran towards the boy, claws extended. "**I'll kill you, you bast**-."

Fsht!

A hand extended from his chest, and lifted him off the ground before letting him down a second later.

A death rattle was the only other sound he made, before he fell from Akemi's bloody fingertips that now retracted six feet away and back into her fingers.

His body landed inches from the fire.

Yoma could extend their claws into _weapons? _And did her aura just adjust?

"**Now, let that be a reminder to anyone who thinks they can take over my business. As to supper**." She bowed respectfully. "**I can't provide tonight. That was my original purpose, but this had to be addressed first**. **Bring payment tomorrow.**"

"**Of course**!" The stone-yoma supplied, nodding quickly. "**Understandable**." Most of the others nodded with agreement.

Only one was locked into a rapture, drool escaping the fringes of his mouth.

Naruto.

A primal instinct came over him, as he walked on all fours, heading towards Charles. He inhaled deeply.

The smell of haggis escaped the yoma laying on the ground, as his arm was being charred by the nearby fire.

Drool dripped from his mouth in a river as he hung over the corpse's hole in his chest. It smelled delicious.

He lowered his jaw, and almost stuck his nose in the wound, when he heard.

_Not with your mouth._

He thought absently: Ah, that's right. With his body.

His shirt shattered into shreds as black tendrils shot out his back. Naruto threw his head back and laughed heartily, mindlessly, as his eyes turned yellow.

The tendrils were blacker than the abyss, and had five plates on the circumference, overlapping it every two inches. Then the plates separated ever so slightly, revealing lines of teeth.

Then they slammed into the corpse, rocking the ground beneath his knees in their enthusiasm.

Within seconds, the cadaver's flesh was rended away as the tendrils coiled and consumed anything and everything it touched. More like a sponge, than separate slices. Bones shattered, and pulled closer to his back, but before they could even reach it, the bones disappeared with the tendrils.

Unregulated power vibrated in his veins. He never felt more alive than at this moment. The strength that empowered every fiber of every muscle. His golden eyes widened as an insatiable appetite filled him. Veins slithered from his jawline to his cheeks.

Akemi's voice stated in his head-

_'-Find a pawn, something to let others guards down, while I lure others in. We'll 'exhaust resources' in each town in a twenty mile radius, eat a few townspeople back in the main town, then carry on to another city further away, then branch out to its nearby towns and repeat the process. No need to run into Claymore, just keep me flooded in beras, recruit more yoma and we're all set.'_

"**What the hell was that!? What the hell did you bring**?!" One of the yoma demanded fearfully.

When he turned in the direction of the yoma, three yoma, save Akemi, fell to their knees. **"Claymore?"**

They were here because they couldn't hunt! Because they couldn't resist those beings! What was Akane doing, bringing one in the camp?

"**Calm down."** Akemi demanded. "**He's with me."**

"**He? A Claymore **_**male**__?" _They were all dead!

"**Yes. I don't know his story yet, but it doesn't matter either way. He's nothing you should fear. Naruto!" **That wasn't to say that she wasn't unnerved with his... _ability._

His eyes flashed blue once more, as he took a submissive position towards his superior.

"**Stop scaring our guests. We're returning to our hotel."**

"Yes, Akemi-san." He got up in the cart and waited, much to the amazement of the other yoma.

"**You have a Claymore as a pet?"** A yoma grinned. "**Amusing."**

Naruto kept his eyes on the horses in front of him.

What the hell was _that?_ Did he just...just, _eat_ a yoma? With his back?

He looked at his hands, then back at the ground where Charles was.

There wasn't a drop of blood.

* * *

The two hadn't said a word all night to each other. But she ushered him down soundlessly the next morning into the hotel lobby. He sat down and crunched on some bread. Then stopped, turned it in his hand, and stared.

What exactly did he eat? This staved off hunger, right? He ate human foods.

Right?

He set it down and pushed it aside, wondering if his town, Egon, was right to fear him.

He turned his head, and rested his chin on a hand to look at Akemi.

She was twirling her black hair around a finger while talking to a handsome stranger with a blue aura. He measured the man.

Five-nine, brown hair, brown eyes, slender features, with a slight beard dusting his chin. He wore almost royal robes. Naruto watched as his lips moved, and mimicked the motion. Eastern dialect. "Ambassador." He repeated what the man said, fifteen feet away.

He took a sip of water. Akemi leaned in to whisper in the man's ear, and a...flirtatious smile crossed his features.

"I'll be there." Naruto murmured and waited till Akemi walked away. As soon as he was clear of her aura, the man from the east walked out of the hotel, and Naruto chose to follow at a distance. The man gave a charming bow and laughed towards the pretty ladies he passed.

The blonde grew more nervous as he tracked them, and instead decided to close the distance while they were in a busy section of town. "Sir! Wait!" He called out. When most everyone else was looking, save the one he was calling, he repeated himself.

Finally, the young man turned around. "Are you speaking to me, young one?"

"Yeah," Naruto scratched behind his head, and was almost overwhelmed by all the blue auras flowing and interweaving around him. "Don't show up tonight."

"Hm, boy?" The man asked for clarification.

"Don't show up tonight. The lady you spoke with earlier, Akemi? Don't go."

The man gave him a grin, walked towards him, and patted his shoulder. "Don't worry boy, we only mean to discuss business. No need to worry so much for your sister's virtue."

"She's not my sis-."

"Then don't worry." He tapped the boy's shoulder once more, and chuckled. The man then turned around and left, leaving Naruto behind, eyes wide open in disbelief, arm extended to try and stop him.

It lowered as the man walked further and further away, his tunic fading more and more into the crowd and distance.

His arm lowered as his eyes welled with tears. He turned around and returned to the hotel to wait.

Returning to his original table, he made use of his dwindling innocence and stared at the bread.

Soon, much too soon, night fell, and Akemi returned through the hotel's front door. She took a few steps and saw Naruto still there, looking at the remnants of bread still in his hand. "Time to go. Come on."

He obeyed grudgingly, trudging behind her as she held the door open for him.

The streets were dead silent, compared to the hustle and bustle he saw earlier. He didn't see a soul.

Akemi and himself were the only people on the street. "Stay out of the way. I'll need your help with disposal. I can catch for my own kind easy enough, but when I eat, I tend to leave a trail. Eventually, I'll demand your help for catching other humans and bringing them in at our yoma meet, so I can turn a better profit."

The blonde looked down, disgusted with himself. Why couldn't he just kill this beast? Why didn't he have the strength!?

"Ah, there he is. Stay here until I bring him into the alley." He stood there, while she ran to the man, waving. When she came up to him, she threw her arms around him, and kissed him deeply, holding onto the sides of his cheeks as she pressed herself to him. Like a schoolgirl, she grabbed him by the wrist and they ran together into an alleyway.

Naruto walked forward and stood in front, looking at the two.

The man was faced towards the alleyway opening and saw him coming down, Akemi directly behind him. "Hey, what-."

"Wai-." Naruto held up a hand to stop her, but claws wrapped around the ambassador's mouth, and slit his throat, sending out a spray of blood onto him.

The blonde threw his head to the side, screamed and broke down into sobs.

"Shut up!" Akemi demanded, blood still spraying from her victim. He fell limply to the ground. "I haven't eaten yet!" She ducked over the guy's rib cage and opened her mouth and bit.

He covered his eyes again, unable to stop his sobbing, the sound alone forcing him to continue crying. He peeked through his fingers, and watched as the man bled to death, shuddering whenever she took a bite.

The blonde walked forward as Akemi knelt and ate in her regular form, and he knelt down next to the dying man. Brown eyes stared blankly from beneath him, understanding dawning upon the ambassador as he saw the tears stream down the boy's face.

The man closed his brown eyes, tears forming in the corners of his eyes, even as blood still sprayed. They opened once more, in between the wet crunches, when Naruto grasped his hand into his, and laid another hand on top in an attempt to comfort him.

The appreciation bled from the ambassador's eyes, in equal amounts to the blood fleeing his veins.

Naruto ducked his head and cried, even as Akemi continued ripping the flesh from the man.

When he saw her wet slurping, it was different than seeing her killing.

It took over a half an hour for her to finish, and lick the blood from the ground, even as his hand was still locked onto the victims. She licked the blood from her lips and looked at Naruto. "I still need to hunt for my kind. Take this human and dump him in the gutter, then wipe the blood up with this cloth." She pulled a rag from her pocket and tossed it down. "This is what will happen to your friends if you betray me. Always remember that."

She turned around without another word, leaving him behind to deal with the victim.

His throat was hoarse from sobbing. "Sorry." He gripped the man's lifeless hands and dragged him down the alleyway. He looked both ways, checking for a sewer opening, and finding one across the street, carried him to it. "I'm sorry." He grabbed the lifeless body and dragged it closer. "I'm sorry."

It thudded into the sewage below and was carried away in the flow. He almost hyperventilated, watching a human get carted down in _sewage_. He walked back to the alley, mind completely in chaos.

He had to stop this. Somehow, he had to stop this...

* * *

It had been months since he last saw Isabelle. It was her birthday in about a week, but he wouldn't be showing up. He couldn't. He had to distance himself from everyone.

He walked stiffly down the street, face almost parallel with the ground. He could feel the burning gazes from the townspeople. He _tried_ dammit! Every single one of her victims he warned! Every single one! And what did they do? They walked right into the trap, like a mouse to a snapper. It didn't even matter if they were in the city, or prairie towns, they still were all suckered in.

Idiots, they _deserved_ to die! He did everything he could! _Everything._ He _warned_ them, he showed up, and he watched them get killed, only to hold their hand until they crossed over.

He clenched his pale fists, as he scowled angrily, black bags under his eyes tensing slightly.

His eyes shut tight, as bitter tears crawled down his cheeks. He did everything, why didn't they listen? _Why_?

Hands reaching up into his hair, he squeezed at the roots and clenched as he scowled. Lifting his head up, he stared at the townspeople walking past. Every single one of them were looking conspicuously in another direction. Each rejecting his existence in some form or another.

He breathed heavy as he stalked down the street, watching face after face turn away as soon as they recognized him. Slowly but surely, his anger was building. It would be snuffed out if even one looked his way, but not even one! Did that bastard at the bath house say something to the rest of the people?

So he walked up to a towns-person. "Look at me." He ducked his head to make it easier on them, to meet them halfway. They simply brushed past, and continued walking.

He strode up to someone else. "Come on, please."

Finally, he ran up to someone, grabbed them by the collar, and barked in their face. "Why won't you look at me?!"

Brown eyes stared back. "Naruto?"

Is_-Isabelle?_

He stepped back, hunched over, turned around and held his hands up to his face. "Sorry." He started pacing.

"Naruto, what's-?" When she placed an arm on his shoulder, he snapped.

"Go! Just go!" She flinched back when he barked at her. His heart weighed even heavier when he watched her go, and could smell the salt of her tears.

He didn't pay attention to anyone else anymore, wandering aimlessly around town. There was nowhere else he could go, nowhere he could get help against a yoma.

Even Matilda wasn't in her shop. Maybe she was at the Church? Seeing the spire reach towards the sky, he made his way towards it.

Walking through the door, he searched the entry for a familiar face. He relaxed a little when he saw Sibyl and Matilda sitting next to each other, and holding their hands in prayer.

"Win or lose." Sibyl began.

"Live or die." Matilda added.

"Thank you for the victory." They said in unison.

There was a short pause before Matilda said, "Thanks for comin' Sib. Gotta check to see if my apprentice is hangin' out at the shop yet." Said apprentice pressed himself up against the wall to hide.

"Speaking of the angel, how's he doing this week Matty?"

"Conceptually, fine. Personally..." She sighed. "Lord, I don't know what's wrong with him. I don't think Akemi's workin' him to the bone, but...well, I don't know what else it could be!" She rubbed her brow angrily. "Ah' mean it's like, he's changing. Ever since the first visit, he bare'y says a word. I don't know if his view's changin' on the town, or what, but-..." She didn't finish her statement.

"But what?"

"I wouldn't blame an ounce of his soul. I should've come back sooner. That's twice now. I ain't makin' a third time."

Sibyl exhaled, trying to figure a way to comfort her friend. "Don't be too hard on yourself. You _did_ come back and you gave him a place to belong. Akemi was a freak of nature, I never would have suspected she would have made the call. Still, there's just something about her that doesn't read right. I can't place it."

"The problem is, she ain't Kushina, she ain't Minato. Those are big shoes to fill, but I followed both of them around town, and nothin' seems to be off, Sib. Neither are eating the town at night, or during the day." The near Amazon leaned over her knees and rubbed her right fist with her left hand. "I don't know if it's been talking to him yet."

"You can't think! _This_ young?"

"It's possible. He was already born a quarter breed. Then the addition of yoma flesh? Powder keg."

Naruto was shocked. Were they talking about _him?_ Then he thought to himself, how many others had yoma flesh in this town. His expression lightened a little. Were Kushina and Minato his parents? But what were they afraid of him talking to?

"Don't tell me you didn't already think of that Sib."

"I did..." She said guiltily. "I was harder on him to control his emotions better than the others."

Naruto's back slid on the wall as he crouched down.

"I didn't want to lose him. I just wanted him to achieve his dream."

He swallowed as he dried his eyes before he could start breaking down into tears. This is why he did what he did for that beast they called his mother.

For the ones he held dear, and more precious than fine gems.

Sibyl whispered, "Keep a closer eye on Akemi when you can. They travel too often for a simple butcher business. I swear if he's been used in any way..." She hung a threat over.

"I'll bring the pliers."

Naruto smiled lightly. Now that, he'd like to see. He looked up, said a silent thank you to God, and made his way back to the workshop.

Mere minutes after his arrival, Matilda didn't look surprised to see him there doing pushups. "How many are you on?"

"Fifty."

"Alright, continue until you tap out." She poured a coffee out from her pot by the forge. She watched him and sipped occasionally, in between prepping herself for forging, by putting on her long leather apron, and gloves.

When he got to three hundred pushups, she arched a brow. She didn't ask him to do over a hundred pushups and unless he was training on the side, he should have only gotten to about twenty-five more.

When he surpassed three-fifty, she knew something changed him. "Stop." He did, and hopped to his feet. "Naruto, have you been doing more pushups around the house or something?"

"No, why?"

"What have you been doing different?" That didn't seem right.

"Nothin'." He said with a measure of guilt changing his tone.

"Naruto..." She murmured with concern.

He closed his eyes and hung his head. The guilt was consuming him. He couldn't take Akemi's jaunts anymore. Nor could the people. He knew every family member he didn't get out of her clutches, was one someone, somewhere else, was mourning for.

"I need a sword." He demanded flatly.

Matilda's brow arched. "Huh?"

He reached in his pocket and pulled out thirty gold cylinders. "I need a sword, the best you can make with this."

She could make a ton of good weapons for _that_ price. "Why?" But she was going to be teaching him how to make a sword, he shouldn't be in that much of a rush. There'd be more pride in a job well done.

He looked down and swallowed, blonde hair covering his face from her view, though his other body language, particularly in his hands, indicated something deep. "I can't say."

She had enough. Matilda powered towards him, grabbed him by the collar and shook him. "You'd better damn well start talkin' boy. I've been waiting months for you to tell me what's been bother'n ya' and ya' haven't."

He fumed for seconds before he reached boiling point.

"You wanna know?"

"Yeah."

"You wanna know, _huh?"_

"I just said, yeah. You need an engra-?"

"She's a damned yoma! She feeds others too." He blurted back, angry at her, angry at Akemi, enraged at the situation. "She forces me to watch what she does and forces me to dispose of it! If I don't..." He looked to the side and jutted his chin, "Isabelle, you, Sibyl, will all be eaten by that cold hearted _bitch!"_

She lowered him to the floor lightly, her eyes twitching back and forth to measure his truthfulness. "Really?"

"Yes!" He barked back. "I try to warn the people, but they keep running to her claws!"

"How many?" She murmured.

"Over fifty." Her eyes bugged out in shock. He popped himself up on the five hundred pound anvil.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Matilda pleaded reason. "I would have gladly helped you. I still would."

"'Cause I don't want to risk it! I don't want any of you dead."

Matilda's breath was heaving in and out, giving rise to her powerful chest. She grit her teeth, and looked away, shaking with fury. "I'll make you a sword, under a couple conditions."

"Name it." Naruto would do just about anything to rid himself of the demon in his life.

"You start practicing your techniques alone, _make sure of it_, and practice day and night. Wait just a little longer, and we'll take her out together. Got it?"

He'd break a couple of those. "Got it."

She inhaled and rubbed her face till blood rushed to it. "Good. Now I'll need something else, and it's gonna hurt like an ass kickin'."

"All right?"

"Naruto..." She hemmed and hawed as how to begin. "You know that patch of skin on your back..."

"Yeah?"

"It's not angel-."

He broke down laughing. He recomposed himself quickly. "Yeah, I know. It's yoma flesh."

"Who-."

"Isabelle. Almost a year ago."

She smirked and shook her head. At least that got one "talk" out of the way. "I've heard rumors on how the claymore get their blades forged, and nothing else cuts through yoma. I'm gonna need a chunk of that skin."

"Take it."

She chuckled once more and shook her head. "So you knew about that little secret huh,huh? Anything else I should know about, special abilities or whatever?" When he looked hesitant, blaring alarms were ringing in her head when she, realized he found some interesting things about his body. "Everything."

He looked at her, and started slowly at first. "I don't know about healing or strength or anything like that, I haven't really tried it out yet...but I think I can shape shift, to a limited degree."

"Show me." Her eyes were firm, interested, but hesitant.

"Like I said-."

"Show. Me."

He looked at his hand, then closed his eyes and lifted his head up as he imagined claws. He gasped from the searing pain that crossed his hands. Four seconds passed.

"Holy shit!" She barked in shock.

He snapped his head down and looked at his hand. Four inch long black claws extending from his finger nail bed, with a hard ridge extending past the middle of the nail-bed through each individual finger, and linking together in the back of his wrist. "Cool." He murmured.

"Your muscles are decreased in that area it looks like, try to move muscles from your other arm into your claw hand." She grabbed a hold of his arm, and turned it lightly.

That was impos-. Oh yeah, right.

Closing his eyes, he tried it again, gritting his teeth to keep from screaming in pain. When he opened his eyes, he noticed a little more bulk in his claw arm than what he had before closing his eyes.

The blacksmith scratched her left cheek in thought, occasionally looking towards the weapons rack. "How did you think of this?"

"When I was _first...adopted."_ he bit. "I ran really fast, I didn't notice it at first. Then I saw claw marks in the street, and my shoes were in tatters. I still don't know what I did."

"Naruto, do you realize just how amazing this is?" She asked, caught between hesitance and an almost scientific excitement. "You can augment your strength, speed, durability, form impromptu weapons, you might even be able to kill a yoma bare handed if you shift enough of your body. I mean," she shook her head, trying in vain to come up with the words. "I can't even think of all the potential. Any drawbacks?"

"Hurts. Like I stuffed my hand in the forge without gloves."

"Ah." She nodded not liking that particular problem. "Does it keep hurting?"

"It's like a dull throb."

"Okay then, retract it." He did so. "You _might_ have to use it against Akemi. Might."

"I can keep practicing, just give me a leather strap to scream into."

She didn't like that description, but she gave him one anyway. "I don't know if it'll unlock any problems with your yoma flesh, lower your age before you awaken, or...anything else really. Permanent effects or whatever. So keep that practice limited, and around me, if you can. Anything else?"

"I can see auras and I can imitate others really well."

"Define auras?" She asked for clarification.

"You have a blue aura, I have a dark maroon, and yomas have reds."

She shook her head in amazement. "I saw that you could figure out what I did that set me apart, like how far I stepped, which hand I use, etcetera. That was really something. So that's everything?"

He lowered his head and shook it. Keeping it ducked, he occasionally popped his eyes up to look at her. "Yeah."

"Good, now." She stood up. "While you're gone, I'll forge, and while we're together, we'll train. But I need some flesh." She pulled out a knife and leaned over his back when he pulled his shirt up and off. He felt a cold glass jar press itself into his back.

"I'm gonna blood-let now." She stabbed the flesh and allowed the blackish blood to pour in it. It sealed up on its own. "That's so disgusting." The now warmed glass pulled away from his back. "Alright, that's good enough. It'll be a short sword, I'll coat one a' my hammers with this to burn it on so I have a weapon too."

"You got enough?" He didn't even feel it.

"Plenty."

"So what's the purpose of the blood anyway."

She sealed it up and put it in a special place where she wouldn't lose it. "Combines with the metal to make blades sharper and harder." She looked back from where she was bent over. "Harder than any known metal. I don't know if its true, but one of my old smithing buddies, supposedly worked a tenure for the organization banging out blades."

"Why don't they make shields out of it?"

"'Cause it's a crapload harder to work with. Once working the metal, you only have about fifteen minutes to get everything where you want it before it hardens to that extent. I can manage a shortblade in that timeframe, anything larger requires a team." She furrowed her eyebrows. "Though, a small shield would be doable. Want one?"

"I'll need everything I can get."

She snorted. "Yeah. We will."

Popping off the anvil, he couldn't help but ask, "You ever fight a yoma before?"

"Once. Had to use a friend's blade to take it down though."

"You were friends with a Claymore?" Maybe she knew his mother?

"Yeah. Mighty fine woman. The yoma's extendable limbs were tricky, but I didn't face an elder one. Just a runt, more or less." She shook her head in amused reminiscence. "I thought I was such a bad ass." Smacking her hands free of any dust or blood drips, she walked towards him, till she was about a foot away.

"Alright, we're hanging up the blacksmithing practice until the yoma meets her expiration date. The blade will be ready by tonight, though you _will_ wait to attack her _with _me _when_ I say so." He nodded in acquiescence. "Good, now while we won't learn blacksmithing yet, sword play takes precedence. So get ready." She went towards the practice swords, and tossed him one.

He readied himself with a grin. It was going to be so good to win...

He settled into his sword's stance, causing Matilda to grin in equally feral excitement.

...Delicious even.

* * *

It was nearing nightfall, but Naruto had one more stop to make before he headed home. As he got closer to his purchase, he was equally relieved in having a companion in arms against Akemi, but nervous about his trip down towards the seedier side of town.

Ducking his head lower with every step he took, he stood right in front of the bath house. He wrung his hands, wondering whether or not to just continue on, or not.

He'd just apologize. That quick.

In and out. Nothing more. No heart-felt conversations, no-.

Crash!

His head lurched forward as he stumbled and tripped onto the steps, glass shards, and booze pouring down his back. Grabbing onto the railing next to the stairs he landed knee first on, he pulled himself up.

Keeping his head down, his fists clenched automatically, as his heart throbbed in his chest, well after he recovered from the blow. His jaw set and twitched maliciously when he heard quiet chuckles from his back, like they were watching some animal in a zoo.

_**After all you did for them, to protect them!? For what?**_

His teeth ground as he heard a whisper. "Watch this."

Naruto snapped around within a split second, and clenched the bottle mid air in his hand.

His fingers crawled, lengthened and constricted across the entirety of the bottle. He heard it creak, just barely above the sound of his teeth grinding back and forth.

He took a step on the pavement, a small puddle of cheap alcohol trailing behind him.

The glass shattered in his hands, and his arms became like liquid fire as he willed a transformation. A ball of rubbery flesh slid down his arm, and dripped over the glass, causing the sharp protrusions of glass to jut out.

Like an organic mace.

"Oh shit! Yoma!" Naruto stopped for a moment in the center of the cobblestone, watching the three men who threw the bottle for their own amusement, cower.

_**Kill them.**_

His flesh slid back up his arms as the glass shards fell one by one into the middle of the street. But he continued walking forward.

Three men. One tall, with a beer gut, scruffy beard, but more along the lines of a twenty pound weakling, than a barroom bruiser. Left handed. He was the one kneeling down hands over his head. The second man, looking at Naruto fearfully, but growing more brawny as he stepped closer. Hairy arms, average build, right handed, durable form. The third was almost a pool of quivering jelly on the ground.

The second man threw himself at the blonde, fist reared back for a vicious right hook.

Slow. It was like he was moving through molasses.

A malevolent grin flashed on his face. He rocked a punch into the man's chest, taking the breath out of him, and sending him flat on his back. Edging the side of his foot into his ribs, the man rolled several times before sprawling out, completely defeated.

Blonde knew he was powerful. These humans had nothing on him!

He laughed slowly at first, before it rolled into a cold crescendo.

He was invincible!

The first man that caught his eye, the _coward_!

Grabbing him by the collar, he rocked the man to his feet, then slammed him into the wall of the brick building to his immediate right. He let go, allowing the thin man to fall to the street and rocked his head back to avoid a punch from the pile of jelly he didn't even care to notice earlier.

_**We're unstoppable**!_

He roared as he leapt at the man. He stood over the attempted attacker, shot his body down, and whipped out a punch to his left eye socket. A single punch that meant lights out as the back of his head collided with the cobblestone.

He stepped over the man beneath his feet, saw the moon and a primal instinct overcame him.

Throwing his arms out to his sides, he puffed out his chest, and howled from the core of his being.

When the sound reached his own ears, he stopped immediately, having come to grips with reality. He turned around and looked, actually looked at what he did.

His hands clapped over his mouth. There were small pools of blood, the first man that attacked him, had a jaw that was-. Unable to stare at his handiwork of a shattered and displaced jaw and went on to the second, who didn't even attack him.

Water filled his eyes as he could see a chunk of skin, hair and blood on the wall he slammed him into.

The final man. He didn't want to look, but he forced himself to. A small puddle was under the crown of his head, eye swollen beyond recognition.

The blonde fell to his knees.

Were they even alive?

What did he _do_? _Why_ was he doing this? Yes! _Yes_ they upset him, they even hit him with two bottles of beer, but- but to react like _this_?

He was stronger than them, of course they'd be afraid of him and try and prove their nonexistent strength. That's why humans like them, needed creatures like him...

They needed security. No, it wasn't right what they did, but he made it worse.

He whispered. "'m sorry." He rose to his feet quietly. He turned around quietly, and hung his head. He didn't want to know if they were dead or not. "I'm sorry." Was the only rustle he left behind.

He ran.

Unfortunately, he didn't see Isabelle's hurt eyes staring down at the events that took place.

Nor the other eyes that watched on, pleased at this turn of events.

* * *

The blacksmith's apprentice awoke late that morning, having not been bothered or touched by Akemi last night. But he still felt sick. He stood up, to his full five-ten height, and rolled his shoulders, shifting his neck back and forth.

He took heavy steps towards the mirror.

Silvery blue eyes stared back, framed by gray bags under his eyes. The three scars on each cheek were still in their place, and his ivory-blonde hair framed the top of his head. He kept his eyes in one place as he tilted his head to take a look at his ears, the upper tips at a sharp angle.

He shifted his face back to look head on at his thin, but athletic composition. He continued watching the mirror as he lifted up a hand to chest level. He twisted his wrist to show the back of his hand in the reflection, as he wanted sharp talons to replace his fingertips.

Liquid black glass bled from the sides of his fingers, and moved upwards against gravity to form a point, then melted down the back of his nail, then past the back of his hand.

A shiver slid up and down his spine as he mused on just how yoma-like the claws were.

He snarled at the reflection, throwing a heavy punch to crack it.

At that point, when the mere sight of himself disgusted him, he was given an idea.

He glared at himself until his eyes shifted to a brown, the scars disappeared, and his face thickened. Black darkened his hair. He'd shift back to his normal look when he arrived before their leader.

He thought about it all night.

He'd have to tell the head what he did, and throw himself upon their mercy. What he did was evil. Sibyl and Matilda would be ashamed.

Turning around, he left his room, and headed towards the small government district.

As he walked, he didn't even need to look up to tell where he was going.

The stone pathing was a lot smoother than the other districts, each stone was individually cut, then planed down to be easier on the feet. The brickwork was also more even, more measured, more..._professional_ than the places he normally stayed.

The most expensive businesses could be found here, only the best markets for frivolities of all types, with curtains of red and royal purple.

The Kamiko, no, Uzumaki, kept his head ducked even when disguised. The shame still felt fresh as he traveled to the one place he wished to own. The one place he wished to rule his people from, where they would thank their Maker for such a good leader. At the mere thought, his gut twisted in knots.

He was a little surprised at seeing the streets crowding up around the town head's office. Walking deeper into the crowd, he gently excused himself as he pushed himself deeper. He was on a mission, and he-.

Hearing voices barking back and forth made him prick his ears up. What could they be arguing about. He closed his eyes to listen better.

"-Four bodies last night alone, we're not even talking about the ones just a couple weeks ago! It's hard to argue they're the results of a yoma."

"A yoma, Matilda? A yoma? Are you certain you wish to _admit_ such a find?"

When he heard the name, he recognized the voice as his boss. He probably killed three of those-.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"What do you think?" Was the sizzling, accusative voice. "Should we look at you as well to see if _you_ are a yoma as well as your apprentice?"

"You _dare_? The boy was the son of heroes-."

"The son! The son, not the heroes themselves. He shouldn't get a free ride off of that."

"How do you know its him?" At the statement, murmurs erupted in the crowd.

Naruto heard footsteps, as the prosecuting man walked around.

"I think the whole of this town agrees with me. Who _else _could it be? When did both of these murders take place?" A step across creaking wood. "Why, a mere two weeks ago to this very day. Hmm!" The man hummed mockingly. "And then, this same so-called 'boy'," he spat the words, "beat up three adults, twice his age. Not an easy feat for a human, let alone a yoma!"

"Are you accusing my apprentice?" Matilda, his lone defender, hissed back.

"Not accusing as much as revealing Matilda. If in fact, you aren't a yoma, _you_ are in danger as much of any of us, probably more so." He pleaded with her. _"Akemi-san_ is in danger. The _witness_ is in danger."

He gripped the front of his shirt.

"The witness?" Matilda asked.

"Yes, the witness. I didn't want to bring up her name, but I believe it's necessary to convince you. There was a witness to the beatings of three adult men, perpetrated by your apprentice! Three men no doubt murdered, and then he returned within minutes to consume their guts!" He pounded on a table surface to punctuate his point.

There was a gasp in the crowd, and even his eyes widened.

"Are you telling me that someone saw Naruto eat the guts of human beings?"

"Yes. It hardly surprises any of us, why does it surprise you."

S-someone- sa-saw him e-_eat_, eat people?! He didn't, e-eat! R-right? He didn't eat _people_.

"Well don't you think a yoma wouldn't be so stupid as to eat a human in full regalia of a human? Isn't it possible he was _framed_?"

Did Akemi do it?

"Framed? More like inexperienced."

Or did _he_?

"Don't you find it odd about the victims?" The man continued. "Three men that attacked him, and his best friend's mother! Do you think she would lie to protect him after _that_?"

Naruto fell to his knees. Arabella was murdered. The crowd sent him sympathetic glances, before gazing back towards the door to continue listening.

Ara-bella was-.

He swallowed as he looked down at the wood floor he was kneeling on. He never would have done that. Ever.

"The demon gets what's coming to him, it's that simple. Raphael, our illustrious town head already called for help a week ago, and its only a matter of time before she arrives and takes out the known problem, for us." But the blonde didn't hear any of that.

Hiccuping, he thought of the pain Isabelle was going through. The loss of her mother. They may have had rough times, but they were inseparable!

"The only shame in this situation, is that this didn't occur sooner. The shame, is that we didn't solve this in the first place!" The man finished his argument.

"They gave up their son for us, can't we just, exile him if you must, but don't _kill_ him." Matilda pleaded for him. Pleaded, _begged._ Why? "What if he's innocent?!"

"What was he doing down in that district, he's too young for carnality, but not for fle..." The sound faded from him.

No. He would have never harmed Arabella. Isabelle loved her too much.

He slowly rose to his feet, curling and relaxing his fingers at random and leaving his face, towards the floor.

She didn't keep her promise. Akemi _killed_ his friend's mother.

His black hair turned blonde. A man gasped in the crowd.

He pretended for so long to have a place in Egon, yet for all these years, he was the villain of this town.

His steps led him back to the shop where he and Matilda spent so much time together. He pressed it, trying to open it, then reached for the keys when it didn't.

His eyes shifted to a cobalt blue.

That heartless bitch that caused suffering to everything it touched with its rotten hands, would die this day. It harmed him, it harmed all those people in all those towns, and it harmed Isabelle.

This affront...

He saw the warm red glow, displaying the aura of a sword to his left, under a box near the forge.

...Would not be forgotten.

He strode towards it with purpose, lifted the box, and grabbed the shortsword.

It was about three feet in length, two inches of steel at its thickest, a mere hair at its thinnest, the cutting edge. The width was around three inches, with a cutting edge on one side, rolling past the tip, and extending halfway down the other side that would face him. But an odd feature, was that Matilda left about a foot of untouched spine.

He smiled appreciatively as he picked it up and caressed handle in his hand.

It must've been so that he wouldn't get cut, if he tried to block with the blade, and held it by the back of the spine for support against a powerful blow. He trailed his eyes up and down, and could see the hand beaten marks into the flats of the blade.

He grabbed the handle, and offhandedly thought that it was made by twisting the flat iron of the tang. All in all, the blade was formed like a leaf, a long thin point, leading down to the thicker part of the blade, thinning out, and twisted into the handle, much like a Grecian styled blade.

He ran a finger down the flats, enjoying the feel from the sword's blackened texture under the fire from the forge. Standing up once more a frown formed as it set in stone on his face, eyes setting into concrete as they glared forward, goal playing and replaying in his mind.

He was headed home.

As he walked, he thought.

All these years. All these years he may have been the villain...

He pushed open the door to his home, and walked in. "Mom! Where are you?" He called out sharply, _crisply_.

"Up here. _Son._" The voice rattled cruelly, not deceived. "Why don't you give your mother a kiss, muah, muah."

He grit his teeth, and resisted the liquid pain that pumped through his veins.

...But he'd _die_ the hero.

* * *

"You didn't see that?! I swear, I saw this one guy's hair turn white! I think it was the yoma kid!"

Those last two words caught the attention of Matilda, presenting her case. "What did you say?"

The man repeated as others near him rolled their eyes. "I said this one guys hair turned white while he was listening in to Andrew-."

The blacksmith shoved past the crowd carelessly. "No..."

She ran with all her might, feet clacking on the stone beneath her as she returned to her shop. "_No._.." When she arrived, she opened the door. It wasn't even locked.

Running towards where she left the sword she didn't finish to her specs, and she realized... "It's gone..." Her head darted up, and swiped the hammer off the anvil. "No! No! Don't do it Naruto. Don't do it!"

She pounded out the door, looking both ways. Where did he live? Where the hell did he live?!

She rushed down the street, checking each home for any sign of disturbance. Not noticing any, she ran faster.

Looking towards second story windows, she ran, and checked, ran faster and checked even more thoroughly where she thought he was. This was by where he lived, she knew it!

She was so focused, that she didn't notice the fourteen year old boy she plowed over. "Sorry!" When she looked twice, she noticed a boy two years younger than Naruto, with brownish-blonde hair, brown eyes, short stature, and a scar leading from above his left eye, to the side of his temple.

The boy was standing next to a lady.

She looked past the metallic shoulder plates, and the gray cape, past the metallic banded skirt, and straight into the silver eyes of a pissed off Claymore.

Naruto felt fear coursing through him, much like his own flesh, even as his musculature distended, and weakening his frame to support his strength.

He walked up the stairs without preamble, sword at his side, stances and footwork forgotten.

He could see her aura on the ceiling in his room. And smiled.

"Please!" Matilda ran up to the Claymore and fell to her knees. "Please, my apprentice is about to get eaten by a yoma. He's not prepared enough, doesn't _have_ enough, isn't strong enough! Please come quick!"

The boy seemed worried about her and her apprentice, while the slender lady, with the short cropped blonde hair, tight to her scalp, turned to look at the boy. "Stay here, Raki." She gripped her sword. "You as well."

* * *

"I see ya' _mother dearest_. Come to the ground, or do you want me to come up there to kill you?"

"Oh?" Akemi flipped mid air to fall to the ground, snapping boards and cratering the floor beneath her as she landed with cat-like grace, belying her gigantic form.

She wasn't the six feet he remembered. Now, she was at a new height of seven-five, with more developed musculature.

She ducked as she crossed his room's threshold and stood mere feet away from him. "I'm a yoma _elder_ boy. I've lived for over a hundred years, decades before you were even a wet spot on your mother's sheets." The deep warble penetrated his soul, as his sword hand slackened. "And you think you can stand up to me? You _dare?_ Your friends are the next to die after I consume your guts!"

"Shut up." His eyes flashed silver, before they returned to their previous hue. "You're my dinner tonight, bitch." His biceps throbbed as veins erupted to the surface. "And I'm _starving."_

He heard her flesh creak like twisting rubber as her grin widened. "I'm going to torture you till you gush blood like an artesian well."

The blonde noticed the red aura around Akemi, the beast she now was, coalesce into a single finger. He thought it to be a mirage, until a ribbony, yet sheet-metal sharp appendage launched from said finger, and darted towards him.

Shlick!

Three strands of hair floated in front of his face, having ducked in time, saving his brain from being penetrated three inches deep, but not saving the wooden boards behind him.

Akemi smiled wider, and was about to retract the limb, before Naruto gripped on it with enough tension to shatter thigh bones. Whipping up his sword hand, he sliced it off of Akemi, causing her to yelp in pain, taking a few steps back to distance herself.

His pink tongue darted out and licked his chops, as his back exploded in tendrils, consuming the three foot long section he sliced off within seconds.

"As much as I enjoy the appetizer, I'm still expecting the main course." He whispered darkly, not even unnerving the yoma slightly.

His eyes bugged out as he was lifted up by the throat less than a second after he finished his statement.

Such speed!

"That won't happen again boy." Trying to stab her was a futile matter, as she had already locked a burning hot hand over his wrist. "I didn't think you would have made thought to make such a sacrifice for a blade, that is...impressive." She exposed canines, then a wicked row of sharp, triangular teeth. "I'll use it well." It bit into his shirt, ripped, then tore it free, banging the sword free against the wall, and kicking it downstairs.

"I'll use it well against Matilda." Another chunk, resisting his struggles with ease. "Against Isabelle. And against Sibyl."

He growled lowly as small, worm-sized tendrils cracked and interweaved, undulated from the crown of his head to the tips of his toes, before his flesh normalized in texture and tone once more.

His shoe fell off his feet when his obsidian exo-plating sliced through. Shoving his chest forward, he whipped his foot up, and stabbed Akemi in the chest, causing her to stumble backwards, when he ripped it out with a squelch.

Both growled and threw themselves at each other, pushing and wrestling for domination.

The blonde grabbed Akemi by the hair, using her head as a sledgehammer against the plaster walls, only to have her shove his head down, slamming powerful rabbit punches into the back of his head. When he could finally see through the stars, he grabbed her by the ankle, and jumped over the stairs, bringing her with him.

Both rolled brutally, the stairs dropping each other's weight banging on the other. Naruto continued the roll when he rocked a fist in her face, and trying to straddle her. But he was off balance, a good target for Akemi to push and roll him off to the side, even with his vice grip.

This time, she landed on top, and her larger size offered more balance, and more resistance to being pushed over. But Naruto didn't give up, he pulled on her collar bone, pressed the heel of his palm on her mouth, and tried gouging her eyes out. As she pulled back, he gained momentum, and threw themselves down the steps.

Halfway down, he threw his mouth open in a silent scream, the three hundred pound behemoth having crashed a knee on his chest, and broke his ribs on the impact of the floor.

His grip went limp, as they both fell down the steps, breaking everything they crashed into.

When they reached the bottom, Naruto was sprawled out at an odd angle, and Akemi had the wind knocked out of her.

His face was starting to swell, and his lungs were making it more difficult for him to breathe.

Until he willed his body to heal itself. He screamed in agony as every fiber of his body became inflamed by a liquid metallic substance. Blood was pooled from his lungs, back into his arteries, as they raced down to his heart once more. He swung himself to the side, and got on all fours.

Akemi was quick to recover herself, after hacking a quick couple of coughs, she rose to her full height, and looked behind her, realizing Naruto was getting up off the ground. Both saw something at the same time.

The sword. It was stuck up to the hilt in the door of their home.

He reached for it, fingertips just out of reach, but then he felt that aura build up behind him, heating the back of his neck.

Rolling to the side, Akemi shot her finger-ribbons in his direction, hitting his leg, and shoulder, but missing anything fatal.

She thudded closer and closer to him, rattling the very dishes in the kitchen, and allowing the fingers to retract just enough to prevent any slack. Straddling him, she rested her left hand on his throat, and squeezed.

He felt a joint in the back of his neck pop, even as she stared coldly into his bruised, and bloody face, holding herself back from licking the blood between his bared teeth.

"Just die. Die slowly you little _rat!"_

His eyes were bugging out, as his face turned an ugly reddish purple. He tapped at his sides, still reaching for the sword.

Then his blue eyes turned into silver slits. Wrenching her by the elbows, he pushed her to the side, and when she lost her balance, he shot a punch at her throat, causing her to grab it. He pulled her down, opened his mouth, bit her exposed trapezoid and pushed her back, ripping flesh from the side of her throat.

Not even hearing her piercing battle cry, he received the hardest right hook he ever felt in his life, even feeling the bones crack beneath the blow. The flesh he fought so hard for shot out his mouth when his head was thrown to the side. He could feel the bones knit back together almost immediately as he shook his head lightly to gain his equilibrium.

But Akemi didn't let him. "You son of a _bitch!"_ The other side of his head snapped to the side when it took the blow. He could only writhe beneath her weight now. Nothing more.

Another punch slammed into him, breaking his mandible as it crashed with the floor beneath him. He tried to raise his arms, but they felt like jelly.

His bones snapped back into place.

When he spat in her face, she only sent another punch into him.

"You're the most _durable_ bastard I ever killed, but no one, no _thing_ survives this. Any last words, you pile of useless shit?" Her fingertips squeezed into his jaw, nearly drawing blood as she lifted his limp body off the floor.

Badum-badum-badum

Naruto saw a growing black aura at the corner of his vision. He smiled lightly. "Yeah." He coughed, as a light spray of blood spattered his chin, and her hands.

"What?"

A dribble of blood escaped the corner of his mouth. He wrapped his arms around her arms, held them tight against her torso, and interlocked his fingers behind her back. He whispered in her hard chest. "You're coming with me."

There was a pause in her struggle to break free, but when she sensed what was coming through the front door, her eyes widened.

"Hurry up!" Naruto bellowed to the Claymore outside. He squeezed tighter, even when Akemi was nearly breaking his bones to break free.

Just as the door shattered in splinters his left arm broke in pieces as Akemi freed herself simultaneously. He screamed, but grabbed her throat with his right hand, and squeezed with his fingertips, trying to rip out her trachea. She broke his wrist before he could squeeze tight enough to cut skin, and dislocated his shoulder when she tossed his limp arm off to the side.

Badum-badum

The Claymore took her first step through the door, and her gold eyes met his blues, just as Akemi raised her arm to run him through.

His body slackened entirely, as he fell limply to the floor, turning his head just enough to see the arm coming down to kill him. Blood dribbled from the bottom of his nose, and slid down his lip. He blinked slowly, almost drunkenly.

Ribbons extending.

As the crimson trace slid from his nose, down the middle of his cheek, he saw a flash, and the arm headed towards him froze in place, landing on his chest without any power and completely sliced off the main limb.

A white, gloved hand gripped the top of Akemi's head and wrenched her back, slamming her to the floor.

A film covered his eyes, though not enough to clearly see his victory, when the Claymore slammed her sword point down, into Akemi's chest, ignoring the begging and pleading Akemi had been hoping would work.

Slangk!

The massive, fifty pound blade crushed through Akemi's rib cage, and obliterated spine.

Slangk!

His body lifted from the floor slightly, such was the pressure of the blow.

Slangk!

The tip went through the yoma's skull, splitting it open, and spreading blood and tissue across the floor.

The warrior ripped up her sword, and flicked it out at the side, flinging blood down the hallway and into the kitchen.

Shlink.

Then returned it to its sheathe.

He watched, and mused that she reminded him of a guardian angel, furious that her charge was injured. A true angel.

Turning around slowly, the Claymore looked at him, now with silver eyes, paced towards him, and knelt on a knee to his right, armor skirt clinking as she did so.

He tried to say thanks, but only a muffled sound came out. His blue eyes were the only thing that could move at the moment.

Pressing two fingers into the juncture of his neck, she waited a few seconds. She then grasped behind his neck, lifted him up slightly, and felt with her other hand around his throat.

Feeling a tendon pop back into place at her ministrations, he could now whisper, at least. "Thank..." He swallowed down his Adam's apple. "You.

He could tell, that while she held a pursed expression, she was a little surprised. "It was nothing." She turned to look at the yoma, then back to him. "You were brave. I have never seen a human resist a yoma as viciously."

Bloodshot eyes rolled in his head, and then he shook it, to gain back limited control of his body. "Couldn't let it win."

"Can you move?" She stared right through him, as her flat, and calm voice soothed his senses.

"Wish a' could." He twisted a little in her arms, frustrated he couldn't move. "Feel locked up, for some reason."

"Do not move. I will have a member of your people lend you assistance."

"Nn." He mumbled. Help him? They'd sooner finish him off. "Don't bother. Just give me some time to recover." He turned his head to the cadaver of Akemi, Akane, whatever. "Is she really dead?" He whispered.

"Yes."

His hand lightly grabbed her wrist.

"Thank you." He clenched his eyes shut, and sobbed relieved tears. "Thank you so much." He was free again. No more murdering humans. No more pain. Only freedom. He tittered lightly. "You have no idea what this means to me."

"Don't misunderstand." She caught his attention. "I did not do it to save your life."

He grinned wider still. She didn't actually have to hurry to save his life, and destroy Akemi so utterly. He'd let her believe she was a good liar. "Thanks, but'cha' did."

She walked away without another word. Naruto, on the other hand, saw this as an opportunity. His back was broken and his spinal cord was cut. He could move his arms, but nothing from the mid back, down.

And those guts...those guts smelled delicious.

He watched as her aura drifted away, as a bluish one ran up to her excitedly.

Obsidian claws grew three inches long as he rolled the upper part of his body so as to crawl on his chest. He barked in pain when he felt his spinal cord separate as he twisted in a complete one-eighty, where his lower half rested on his back, and he crawled on his front. He slid his nails into the fibers of the wood, and pulled himself forward.

When he was mere feet away, he could feel his instinct take over, and allowed the tendrils to begin their process of eating the body.

His weakened, corpse like body, strengthened, and snapped bones back into place. Bones knit together, as flesh sewed itself shut by pulling string sized protrusions, knotting them, and melting as one.

"Naruto, a-?" He didn't even notice the new arrival as he consumed the yoma, body snapping back into place. Within seconds, his body's tentacles brought Akemi's body closer to itself, and imploded the creature's existence entirely.

"Hm. She didn't like me at all. Ever." He stood up over where Akemi _once _was, and turned around.

"Matilda?" Said woman was paralyzed with fear, arms on the doorway to support herself, even as her eyes were widened with shock at watching him eat the beast who tortured him.

"Y-yoma?"

The word cut through his core. Ducking his head down, he walked towards the sword, and picked it up off the ground. From there, he maintained his gait and brushed past Matilda on his way out.

He wondered if yoma were even _capable_ of crying, as a drop of water hit the ground.

* * *

"So the Naruto was the yoma, hm, Claymore-san?" The town head, Raphael, asked almost beleaguering the thought.

"Negative." The blonde Claymore stated simply. "It was who he was living with that was the yoma. He tried fighting it off to the best of his ability. Your eye witness saw the yoma, but in a transformed state. The boy is in dire need of medical attention."

The town head's eyes were wide with shock as he looked forward, blankly at the wall behind her, not even paying attention to when she left.

The boy had been the town's scape goat for much too long. He probably didn't even beat up those men, but the yoma did. Andrew was wrong. Matilda, was correct. Shifting his gaze to the desk before him, he stared into the grain structure. Maybe the boy could have this position after all.

* * *

Shrinking himself down a few inches, his hair shortened to a mere inch, and a pool grew from the center of his eyes, and mixed into his eyes, forming a hazel color, much like Akemi's. He shook off his shirt tried to have altered flesh take its place.

Black poured like sweat from his skin, coalescing, then hanging limply like cloth. Some of the black shifted into a different color. Now, it seemed like he was wearing a black cloak, and burlap clothes now. He even fashioned a sheathe for his sword.

By the time he ran across his first villager heading in his direction, the scars on his cheek were completely missing as were his apparent emotions.

He couldn't say goodbye to Isabelle. He failed her to a miserable degree, and frankly, he didn't have the balls to say what happened. Maybe, maybe one day, he would, but until the rest of the town remembered him as a distant terror.

If he stayed, Sibyl would learn from Matilda just what he could do with his yoma flesh, as would the entire town in a matter of hours. It would be a miserable existence.

So unless he wanted to die after all the bullshit he took to survive, he'd have to leave.

"Naruto!" He tensed, but didn't turn around when he heard his name called. "Naruto! Where are you?" Matilda bumped his shoulder as she ran past, calling out to a ghost hidden in plain sight. She fell to her knees at the corner of a building, leading out of the city, exhausted, and depressed, but still looking for any sight of him.

He walked right past the blacksmith, accepted her muted apologies and passed through the open gate leading to the great wide open.

While his gut wormed nervously as he crossed the threshold...he did have a fresh start. He swallowed hard, inhaled deeply, then exhaled.

While his cloak remained in place, he changed back to his regular form. Blonde hair, blue eyes, and whisker-like scars, intact.

It would hurt. But he'd survive.

* * *

AN:

From what I understand in Claymore canon, Clare can 'smell' yoma, but not actually 'see' auras like some of the higher level Claymore seem capable of doing. Correct me if I'm wrong there, 'cause I'm pretty dang confused.

I admit my OCs never live long; guilty of cannon fodder in the first degree. But then I thought people would hate me lots if I gave an OC some importance in canon, and that I'm replicating a Mary Sue and stuff. Also, thanks to Braindead212 for bringing up Rubel's cautiousness, it helped to fill that plot hole as well as Chaosfire999 for bringing up Isabelle's knowledge on the sensitive subject of awakened beings, I hope that it's a good enough reason. ;)

Take care, God bless, and hope you liked it.


	4. Chapter 4

Pretend: Chapter 4

Town Diner

AN:

Special thanks to ChrisFragger for reviewing, reading and beta-ing this work. He did a wonderful job in cleaning up the errors and correcting me on some verbiage, lines, etc..

Thanks for the huge reception last chapter, everyone. And if I didn't get the chance to thank you as a reviewer/reader, thank you, and sorry, I kinda confuse who I respond to and such, not ignoring you. To all my readers, thanks again!

Hope you like it! Praise Jesus I was able to get this done pretty quick. 54 pages in eight days. :D I submit to you some serious Divine help.

Posted: 4-24-2013

* * *

Every footstep the blonde took he could hear the crackle of gravel beneath him and the occasional lift of the breeze in the foliage of nearby trees. Otherwise, the dead silence was unnerving, as were the deep, dark, threatening clouds looming in the distance.

He could see two souls way in the hell off in the distance, but couldn't see their auras from here. If they were a threat... This time he'd have his sword, and would latch onto it with everything he had.

Curving his arms around himself, he demanded the burlap clothing beneath his cloak to shift to a tighter cotton weave, even as his cloak became a heavier leather. Holding his hands at chest level, he relaxed them, and stared directly at the palms as denim gloves took their naked place.

Only now, it felt like magma was flowing through his veins.

So he was down to his reservoir of _his_ flesh? He thought for some reason, that the yoma he consumed, would provide more than this _measly_ amount for him. His clothes were already thin...unless... unless the material mattered as much as its damage resistance, and as much as the amount used.

He tried an all cotton long sleeve shirt, as well as a burlap cloak, and was pleased to note, he had a little more transformation capacity. Not much more, after all, he could start feeling a twinge. But at least it was a little bit.

Shifting back to his previous clothes, a leather cloak and hood, with burlap clothes. Wrapping the fringes of his cloak closer to himself, he felt a little more warmth radiate from his core, even when a gust of warm wind blew at his side.

When he stepped in shade, his light blue eyes looked up, watching a tree branch hang lowly, just a few feet above him. Hopping up a little, he smacked the branch, just to see if he could.

His middle finger just barely brushed against the lowest hanging leaf.

Suddenly, he was struck by an idea.

A slight, but searing pain, filled the soles of his feet.

He pressed a kick against the side of the trunk, and felt the cleats on his soles stick a little bit deeper in the pine. Lifting himself lightly off the ground, he could even feel the muscles on the front of his body automatically thicken and adjust on the front of his body so as to keep him as straight as a plank.

Slipping his foot off the trunk, he decided to keep moving forward and keep that as an ability to master and practice, _later._ Later, when he was more stable, as in, food on the table, a roof over his head, and a purpose to look forward to.

He had enough time to do it later, anyways. He should just enjoy the day.

Akemi was dead as a doornail, he left his oppressive town, and he was on his way to...wherever.

Still, his abilities were beyond his wildest machinations. He'd have to actually sit down and think of new ways to use it.

And look for yoma dens...nests...whatever they were, to build up to more.

If Akemi had been just a little bit easier to kill, then he would have had the courage to face another yoma head on, maybe even the ones she called to her weekly human meat markets.

He growled lowly as his eyes turned slitted, just _thinking_ about what she made him do...what _he_ did. Covering for a beast like that, protecting her, even knowing she would probably go against her promise like the demon she was.

Eyes dulling, he looked down, watching his feet extend, and retract, repeatedly.

He should have, _could_ have alerted his town. But the thought hadn't even crossed his mind. Even if it did, what could humans do against a yoma?

As that lady's silver-eyes flashed through his mind, he supposed that they could have hired the organization earlier. Though, had he thought more about it, he didn't even want to think of who they'd take if they couldn't afford to hire one with cash.

But that claym-.

No.

No, that shouldn't be their name. Just a faceless, nameless _thing. _A beautiful weapon, yes, that's what a claymore _sword_ was, and that _may_ have been how humans saw them. But that wasn't how he saw _himself._ He saw himself as something more, so he'd see _them_ as something more.

A guardian. A protector. A warrior that helped guard the temporal salvation of man.

He settled on the description he had when he first saw her. A silver-eyed angel.

As he thought about it, he remained puzzled about one key thing.

Why did he feel such a...a..._drive_ to protect the humans? Was it in the blood? It wasn't like they had done anything nice for _him_ lately. They didn't see that he had needs too-?

Matilda's words still cut him deep, as he closed his eyes, and rested his head backward. Why did she think that? Why did she call _him_ a yoma? Why?

His fists clenched.

So what he ate the yoma! So _what_! He still cared for every single person he held precious. It didn't make him less of a being, to make a meal out of food that was just laying _right there_. It didn't just feed his person like bread did, it fed his _body_. It was an instinct! One he couldn't control just yet, but it's not like he could help it. Probably...

Why did she feel that way, calling him a _demon_? A monster who did nothing more than rape, pillage, and eat. He _trusted_ her.

He closed his eyes gently.

Then snorted like an angry mare.

Ta' hell with it.

Tilting his head back to its normal position, he flicked his hood up with a thumb, just as the first drop of rain hit it.

There had to be others worth his time. Worth his blood, sweat and tears. Worth dying for.

Worth _living_ for.

A couple of raindrops splattered on his cloak, and he twitched in surprise when he could..._feel_ it. Be conscious of its presence and actually be _chilled_ by it, though without it being against his real skin.

He sighed in discomfort, realizing that he should have gotten _actual_ clothes. Why did he even _think_ it would be useful?

Unless he had to change disguises quick...Damn it was cold!

Trying to get his mind off of the wetness that was beginning to soak him through, even though it didn't _actually_ touch his skin, he decided to settle his mind on his freedom.

And what it would take to get some yoma for delicious chow.

It replayed in his mind, over and over again, how the angel took out such a powerful yoma with practiced ease. She was direct. Herculean. And even had a plan, and thought, behind every purposeful blow.

He, on the other hand, had some handling issues with his blade. He didn't have his stance down perfectly, nor did he have the speed, or brute strength that the angel seemed to have.

Yet.

_Yet_. He had to practice, but he was already set up to be as powerful as one of them. It was just a little disheartening, when the angels were _so_ powerful, that they didn't even feel the need to shapeshift like he did.

And why did she call him a human? Couldn't she see his aura? For that matter, why were their eyes even silver, and not colored like his was?

Was he a weaker breed?

Or was it because he was a male? And was he less powerful, as a consequence of his gender?

Akemi made it sound like the claymore-, ugh! The _angels_, didn't even need to eat yoma, but would be more like her, and eat humans instead. That couldn't be true, right? After all, why save the lives of what you eat? Why wouldn't the demons and the angels work together if that were true?

Because it wasn't true, that's why. Akemi,-. No. The _demon_ said that, so he wouldn't even look to them for help. And it worked.

Electric blue sprawled out across the sky like dead branches.

The rain stopped.

His brows furrowed, concern at the turn of weather.

A dry storm? Not good.

He sighed and shook his head.

Nevertheless, he didn't know his sword was an actual conductor of electricity, but he couldn't resist the urge to get a feel for it.

Reaching for it at his side, he first felt the handle. Thick enough to get a good grip on, but not too thick, where it would slip through the hole in his finger.

Fsht!

A shiver rolled up and down his spine when he felt it slide against his flesh that wasn't _his _flesh. He'd have to get a scabbard for this thing when he could buy it.

Continuing his gait, he held the sword at his side, twirling it between his fingers, and around his hand.

The tip was heavier than the handle. He moved it a little awkwardly at first, but he knew the theory behind it.

It was better for chopping. But how did she do it? There was less material in the tip of the sword, than in the lower part near the hilt. Tossing it to his other hand, he repeated his earlier gesture, analyzing the steel slicing through the air with ease.

Lead core perhaps? With a steel overlay? If the edges and the outer surface couldn't be destroyed, then it would only make sense to do something like that to change the feel.

He had no idea why he felt almost an unstoppable urge to toss the thing into a tree to see if it stuck.

His eyes fluttered as his head lowered.

_Thunk! "-Gotcha basti'd!" Silver eyes stared back in the reflection. "Say goodnight to number forty seven, bee-yotch!"_

"_**You shouldn't have done that.**_" _It was Akane's voice._

He thought she was dead!

Head snapping up, he looked around to who said that. How did he see that? Who threw a weapon near him? And how-

Turning around, sword at the ready, he was alarmed to note that there wasn't a soul. Not a single aura.

Swallowing, he looked at the sword again, this time not thinking about _it. _Did he get the memories of who the yoma ate too?

Eyes running along the back edge of the blade, he stopped when he noticed the flat edge once more. Holding the handle with his left hand, he crossed the blade from shoulder to shoulder, resting his right palm against the flat.

Tapping it into his palm, he was pleased to note that he could indeed use it to block a heavy blow against a heavier weapon even.

Shlink.

He returned the blade to his holster for it, brow furrowing as it felt like how nails on a chalkboard sounded. How he could feel sound, he didn't know, but it seemed like an adequate metaphor.

When he took a quick glance to his right, he noticed the woods growing sparser, as the clouds overhead crawled slowly across the sky. Rumbling shook the ground, but not another drop fell.

The pit of his stomach rumbled too, for the first time in a while.

Didn't he just eat the yoma? Unless he had two...appetites. One for human food, and one for...yom - _other._.. things to eat.

He scratched just above his navel, and yawned. He never took this path with Akemi before, but a town couldn't be too far away. He could sleep here until tomorrow morning.

Finding a large tree to huddle under, the blonde fell asleep as the dry storm passed overhead. He'd check to see if the travelers ahead of him ate anything.

* * *

Toes sunk in the fine yellow sand beneath him, and a sword pierced the dust soon after, as blue eyes locked forward on the horizon hungrily.

He couldn't hunt for shit! It had been days since he had last eaten something, _days_! He was lucky, _lucky_ to have filled up a canteen he made out of his _flesh_ at the previous watering hole. He tried for a squirrel, but ended up expending more energy trying to catch it, than actually getting close enough to do so.

He even chased a damn alligator up and down the desert, and let him tell ya' that thing moved impossibly fast! And weren't they supposed to be in water? _And hunt humans? _What a dumb-ass animal! But it _still_ outran him. Whatever happened to survival of the fittest?

Naruto didn't know why he was feeling progressively weaker, and his clothes, his yoma-flesh-clothes, were becoming ragged and tattered. And for the life of him, he couldn't figure out why it only hurt more when he tried patching it.

Before, he could walk and play for days without being hungry. Now...now it was a different matter.

Then, he chose to just allow his body to subsume most of the clothes entirely, exposing his feet and head, as well as his tattered shirt.

His feet burned, but not from him moving flesh there. His face burned, but not from disguising himself. His back and chest were tingling, but not from adjusting his power.

Nor was it from the desert heat.

_Now_, whenever he tried to add even a simple cloth to protect his feet or his neck, it would feel even worse than before. He already dissolved everything, save the dirty shirt on his back. And even then, he only did it to hide the patch of flesh that would have otherwise indicated that he was a claymore.

It was just strange. Like his body was completely devouring itself, first the yoma flesh, then his own.

The yoma-eater remembered hearing stories about people who survived without food for a month or more. Was it different since he had the demon flesh in him? Could he require less food, and less often, but have less of a threshold of survival?

Using his sword like a staff, he tore it out of the ground, took another wobbly step, and pierced the undulating solid beneath him, taking another shaky, limping step.

A hot breeze blew through his clothes, and cooled the sweat only minimally as chapped lips stuck together at the edges of his mouth.

All this time... All this time he kept those two dots in the distance, in his sight. He had to keep moving this night, not that he'd be tired to fall asleep anyways. He _had_ to catch up, if just for a chance.

The only problem was, that when he left Egon, he noticed that they came from the direction of his town. Therefore, they might not be so merciful to the resident yoma brat. He didn't care if they laughed as he begged, he just needed something. Anything to keep that one last breath, that one last step.

Thankfully, he saw a blood stain in the sand earlier, and sucking the disgusting red liquid was probably the only thing that gave him enough energy to sustain him this far. If there was a blood stain, that could mean that they killed something for food. They _might_ have scraps that they'd be willing to part with.

Or that they wouldn't miss.

Just the mere thought of food kept him moving, kept him limping towards the two dots in the distance.

If they were yoma, he would try them with his mouth. Maybe he wouldn't get sick eating them. Maybe he'd like it that way instead of leaving it for his tentacles?

Whatever they might be, the two seemed to stop whenever it got dark, just like he did the first day. At least now, he could see the two again.

He had a few hours left before they'd do just that.

His growl sounded more like a guttural clicking.

* * *

Heaving breaths, Naruto was crawling forward on all fours, sword still clenched tight in his sweaty hand. They had been resting for the past few hours, and he was moving ever closer to their camp, he was only twenty feet away now.

But why did he only see one blue aura? A smaller outline too, more of a teenager than an adult.

The cold sand drifted between his fingers as he clawed himself forward.

Was their companion a yoma?

He picked up his crawling pace. What if they were like him? What if they was forced to do things they didn't like, like what they did to him?

Cresting a grassy knoll, he gave a quick look towards the camp to see the general layout.

"I wonder what the boy would think if he saw you like tha-." Rubel's brow furrowed underneath his black reaper hat. "Did you get another one in your travel's?" Because he only saw one last time.

Clare's silver eyes widened as she ripped her sword out of the ground where she left it, blurring back to camp.

Rubel readjusted his cloak uncomfortably. Why did the aura seem almost...familiar?

In any case, he already gave the orders, no need to comfort Clare when she saw her boy-toy's... excuse him...the "_cook's_" guts hanging out of a yoma's mouth.

Strange colored aura though. Didn't he see one like that before?

As he walked, he pondered, searching for the mental file.

There was a boy taking a nap sitting down, resting his back on a tree.

His companion was nowhere to be found. Maybe they were on a bathroom break.

The most luxurious odor came from a partially eaten gator that was currently getting smoked on a wooden spit. Was that salt?

He looked back towards the boy so as to not wake him, when he noticed a half eaten leg from the gator laying between the boy's knees, and resting in the dirt. Then his blue eyes shot back to the delicious looking food roasting on the open flame, just absorbing the delicious hardwood flavor.

Swallowing his profuse saliva, he edged towards boy.

What if they needed food for their journey? Or what if they sold hides, or trapped for a living? They did the hunting, but he'd be damned right about now if he'd let them waste good food. Crouching low, he took slow, easy, and very gentle steps, which was difficult when one's half starved and seeing food right _there._

A shaky hand reached towards the leg, other hand keeping the sword out of the way. Just as he could feel his fingertips touch the still-sticky and semi-warm bone, he grasped it by the joint.

Just as he was about ready to take a bite, he turned his head, having heard a low whipping hum, and uncomfortably noted a steely almost silvery aura.

Hovering around a gigantic steely white _blade_ that was just inches from his nose. Freezing in place, he could barely see a black aura, just in the fringes of his vision, and nearly melting into the background.

Even had he been looking for that aura, he wouldn't have seen it with how dark the night got.

His stomach gurgled at him angrily, bringing his attention back to the gator limb in his hand. Slowly bringing it up to his mouth, he took a bite, ripped a chunk off, and swallowed almost immediately.

The blade backed slightly from his face, then backed further once it was determined he wasn't a threat.

He relaxed a little. "Sormy." He whispered so as not to wake the boy. "Uhngry." Before the chunk of meat even went down his pipe, he was scarfing down another one. "Pay yem, in a'sec." Neither he nor the claymore said another word as he was eating. He groaned with pleasure, even when grit from the dirt layered his teeth.

When he stripped the bone absolutely bare, he stuck his mouth over the center, tossed his head back, and cracked it over his mouth, getting a few drops of fatty bone marrow.

Squirr.

His stomach was unsatisfied, but he fell a hell of a lot better. Sticking the bones in his pocket, when he looked up and saw just who had the blade to him, he fell to his face in subservience. "I'm sorry!" He almost forgot to tone his voice down.

"Were you the one following behind us?" Clare, his guardian, asked, having thought it the handler, and not the boy. When she saw him hanging over Raki, sword in one hand, other hand reaching out towards what looked like his guts, she prepared for the worst.

After all, the boy did smell like a yoma, but didn't have the feel of one.

"Yes. I didn't know who you were, or I _swear_, I wouldn't have touched it. Please I'm sorry!" He plead for her forgiveness.

"You look familiar-." Suddenly, it clicked. "You're Naruto from Egon, correct?" It wasn't often one was thanked as a 'silver eyed witch'. The handful that did, were almost always remembered to the finest detail, due to the rarity of such a person.

That also explained the yoma scent.

Naruto rose his head from the ground only slightly, to say, "Yes."

She looked over to the brown headed boy, then back at him. "Take what you want for food, and drink. Then follow me over there." She pointed towards a space twenty feet away.

The blonde didn't have to be told twice. He took about a foot sized section of the tail, and sliced it off with his blade, then snatched a leather wrapped glass bottle off the ground, heading off to where she asked him to be.

He could tell, that while she was stiff in speech and manner, that it was more out of discipline, than social awkwardness.

"They kicked you out?" She inquired, somewhat surprised that they would do that to someone so mortally wounded. So his bones simply dislocated, and didn't break like she originally thought? Otherwise, she would have seen an immobilizer on him.

"I left before they had an excuse to kill me." He took a chunk from the tip of the tail, ever so happily, then set it off to the side, chugging back a swig of water.

An..._odd_ choice of words. "You, _left?_"

"Yeah!" His eyes widened, afraid that he may have woken up who he assumed to be her son, something that probably wouldn't have gone over well. "Sorry."

"You thought they would kill you?" Her silver eyes narrowed as she asked.

"I knew they would." He scratched behind his head nervously. "I wasn't well liked in my town. I played pranks, and I was an overall pain." Swallowing, he kept his eyes on the ground, still sick about it. "And I um. I uh," his teeth grit, swelling his jaw slightly. "I had to work for the yoma in one of their human meat markets." Tears welled in his eyes, frustration still overwhelming him. "If I didn't _listen_ if I didn't do what she asked me to do..."

He breathed heavy, even as he felt his chest constricting. "She would have killed everyone that I liked." A shuddering breath escaped, and he tried defending himself. "I _tried_ to fight her before you came, but I wasn't strong enough. It was going to eat me, but preferred k-. _Keeping _me like a pet. After that, I did what she said to try and help as many as I could."

He took her subtly angry look, wrong. "I'm sorry. Y-you can kill me now, if-if it'd-."

He felt a hand rest on his shoulder, causing him to flinch. "You did what you could. I doubt, however, that your town would have killed you." Her hand returned to her side.

Naruto looked both ways, and turned his shoulders in, occasionally looking off to the darkness. "You didn't hear them talk. They _hoped_ that you would kill me, they thought I ate Isabelle's mom-."

"I explained to the chief that you were innocent on the matter."

He stared down, baring teeth, even as his eyes were leaking. "The closest thing I had to a _true_ mother, called me a y-yo-." he grit his teeth and looked upwards in frustration at being temporarily unable to finish the word. "_Yoma_." He turned his chin towards her. "You may be right, they might not have killed me physically, but they already tried here." He pointed to where his heart was. "I want a chance. Just one."

His fists clenched as he closed his eyes. "But no one there liked giving me one, and the only few that did...they, um. They hurt me the most."

There was silence. Clare just stared at Naruto, and he was unable to even cast a glance up at her. She took in his sorry state, a shirt that barely had anything left past the midriff, with holes dotting the fabric. No shoes, tattered pants, half starved, and thirsty all the while wandering in a desert, leaving a place that just might have killed him, instead of celebrating him as a survivor.

Would accepting him into their fold temporarily, be any worse? Would this human view her less for her position in life, or would he respect her, as Raki did?

Finally, Clare sighed lightly, cocking her head in a way that caused her hair to lift slightly. She paused. "What can you do?"

He looked up hopefully.

Was she...giving him a chance?

Miffed at himself for not answering the silver eyed angel right away, he belted out. "I can butcher meats, smoke, dehydrate, flavor, and tan hides for sale, if you want. I can read, write, do basic arithmetic and I know some basic blacksmithing techniques... If I have metal, enough charcoal, and a really hard surface."

Though her kind of equipment was _way_ beyond his current skill level. Though, in the future, he could probably make her armor once he had practice, and consumed more yoma.

Clearing his throat, he added pretty much the only thing that might be useful to her at the moment. "I'm also pretty strong, I can be your pack mule for whatever you need for your journeys. I'll chop wood, fix camp, and do whatever it takes to help." After that, he was quiet, as there was nothing left to add.

Well...

He didn't _want_ to add in his shape shifting, and yoma sensing capacity. It seemed that she thought him just a human. And if there were no males in the organization, what would they do to the likes of _him_?

"You didn't mention any fighting skill." She was slightly surprised by that.

"Well, you saw how I did against the yoma." He said, derisive towards himself. "I almost got killed, I doubt I can keep up with you, angel-san."

"Angel?" A miniscule line formed between the bridge of her nose, and her brow.

"Yeah, you know. Beings that work for God? Help His people?"

She never heard 'angel' in reference to her race before and honestly didn't know how to take it. So she went back to her main topic. "Maybe so, but you are superior to most every other human." She shifted silver eyes to her other charge. "The boy, Raki, has had a difficult experience, much like yours. I can't protect him on a job as well as I could."

She continued, "I noticed you had at least some training behind your attacks. Could you protect him whenever I'm disposed of? And if I find a town you both like, take care of each other from there on out?"

His eyes furrowed in thought.

Like an...older _brother_?

While he was a little paranoid of familial relations after Akemi and Matilda, he now had a fresh start, and at least knew, well, _kind of_ knew what to look for.

And what to hide.

He bowed deeply to the one who saved his life, twice over. Holding back the joyful tears, protecting her son was the least he could do. "I'll protect him with my life."

* * *

When would he _wake up_? He slept three hours longer than Raki, and that boy slept like a rock! She was happy to give him some lee-way for having poor conditions over the past couple days, but it was now eleven 'o clock in the morning.

Worse? Raki had been all over their new guest, taking in every detail, asking where he came from, why his appearance was so lacking, if he'd be coming with them, and all sorts of other things she couldn't answer.

It may have been better for everyone else in this rag-tag team to be leeching off of her, but it was quickly becoming a problem for every other human that relied on her to save their lives.

When the blonde stopped breathing for a second, and scratched his chest, she thought they could be on their way when he ate some food.

Until he promptly snored again.

Enough.

"Raki." Her smooth, glacially calm voice echoed like a siren's call. "Prepare some food for Naruto, we must be on our way shortly."

"Yosh!" That alone caused the blonde deep in slumber-town to twitch.

Clare, on the other hand, in full body armor regalia, clinked over to Naruto's side, ducked down, and shook him gently.

When he groaned, she shook harder, this time snapping him from his dreams. Having not awakened another human in decades, she didn't think twice about seeing slight slits in his blue eyes.

"Oh!" He cleared his throat, and looked down at his knees almost compressed to his chest from the shock. "Sorry." His eyes readjusted to the light around him. "I sleep pretty hard. Sorry."

She explained. "We must be going. The town is three days journey, and already, there have been a number of deaths."

Naruto paled, having been so greedy for sleep. He hopped to his feet, grabbed his sword, and rest it on his shoulder. "Then I'll carry Raki tonight."

Clare rose from her knees, and shifted her skirt plating back in place. "Are you capable?"

"Yeah." Course he was. He carried Isa-. He carried her around town, all day one time, just to see if she could see over some of the other people's fences.

She nodded once. If he could even carry Raki an extra mile per night, that would cut the distance to worry about, by at least a couple hours.

"Itadakimasu!" Raki brought three skewers from out in the forest, where he had been smoking the meat for the past night.

Naruto perked up, then bowed respectfully in her son's direction. "Pleasure to meet you."

Raki, on the other hand, gave him a hug, then the skewer, causing the blonde to flinch in surprise from both actions. The blonde turned the skewer in his hand, as he stared at its crisped flesh.

"Welcome! I hope you like it!" The boy ran to Clare, then handed her a skewer as well.

"Thank you." He whispered, awed by the gesture from a complete stranger. Only Isabelle had been like that with him. Taking a nibble, he looked up from it, to watch the parental and childish affection between the two.

When the charcoal encrusted creature touched his tongue, he couldn't help but note how good it was. Taking a larger bite, he took off another chunk, and placed the rest in the sole, remaining pocket, stuffing the bone in the hole at the bottom to prevent the rest of the meat from falling out.

Lifting up his sword, he placed the dull portion on his back, as he held it up with his right arm.

Raki didn't notice, having looked towards him, instead of Clare, but Naruto could tell she was smiling. If even just a little bit.

Clare took her place as lead, guiding their path down the reddish-clay road. Naruto took a large pack tossed over Raki's back, causing the boy to squawk with surprise.

"Neh!" Raki was about ready to grab the sack back, until Naruto simply blinked in response. His left hand gripped it too solid for the boy to ever hope of getting it back. Instead, he settled on a quick, "Thank you."

"No problem." Naruto popped it over his left shoulder, and followed Clare, step for step, causing Raki to rush to catch up.

"Hey, Naruto-san, can I ask you a couple questions?" Raki's bright eyes stared up into his.

The blonde blinked, awkward as to how to respond. "No need to show deference, Raki-san. And yeah, sure."

Raki smiled wide, blue aura proudly surrounding his innocent expression. "I think I saw you following us the past couple days, Clare said she couldn't see you, but I knew you were there! Can I ask why?"

"I left my hometown. I was just following the road to the sand dunes. I figured following you two out of there would be the best thing to do."

The blonde's companion looked forward, staring at the back of the claymore. "So, why did you have to leave?"

His blue's looked away, nervously. Adjusting the pack on his shoulder, he murmured. "They wanted to kill me."

"Huh? Why?" He had the boy's full attention again.

Clare kept quiet, recognizing a potential bonding opportunity between them.

Naruto stared off to the side as he explained, unable to match the boy's ocular courage. "My adoptive mother was a yoma. To them, I was by association." He would have shaken his hands back in forth in dismissal, if they weren't full. "I'm-."

"You too?" This time, Raki was the one who looked away, almost depressed.

Naruto, on the other hand, was shocked beyond measure. "But, you're only twelve or thirteen!" Right handed, four-eight, light brown hair, scar over left eye socket, brown eyes and thin framed. "That isn't right." He said under his breath, frustrated that the town would treat their young like that.

"It wasn't right for them to do that to you, either."

"Yeah, but I'm old enough to live on my own. At your age, you shouldn't have to worry about anything, save helping your family." The blonde shook his head then asked. "What happened?"

Brown eyes downcast, Naruto could almost tell what was going to be said. "A yoma ate my parents. Then disguised itself as my brother."

Oh. He thought Clare was the boy's mother.

The three-quarter breed shifted his eyes forward as his fists clenched tighter over his weapon, and the sack.

He'd make it his life's mission to eat every damn one of those things. A dark expression crossed his face, when he wondered if he could do it when they still had a pulse.

"Then what happened?"

"I met Clare-onee-san." Raki said firmly, and thankfully, ducking his head in Clare's direction. "She saved my life. It ate my Uncle, and was about to eat me. But before it could, she came in and killed it."

His respect for the angel, went up even higher. "Wow..."

"How about you?"

Naruto almost tripped over himself. "Me? What about me?"

"How did you find out about your mom?"

The sixteen year old's brows furrowed, as his mouth tightened. "She was a yoma from the get-go. I didn't know it until about a few months after she adopted me." Swallowing, he looked away, causing his voice to drift. "I s-saw her...I saw her _eating,_ someone. I tried to run. She cornered me. Then I tried to fight. But it didn't work." His face etched with a scowl. "She liked how I squirmed, that's the only reason why she didn't kill me right there."

"How did you survive?"

The blonde swallowed hard, forcing back the tears, though not able to stop himself from stuttering. "I uh. I um. I-uh...I did what sh-she, uh, want-wanted." He closed his eyes, trying to suppress emotion. "Wh-w-whatever way sh-she w-wanted."

Raki looked horrified. "For how long?"

"Al-almost a ye-year." He cleared his throat.

Clare halted her step for a moment at that new information, before continuing.

"A _year_?" Naruto nodded at the shocked repetition. "What did you have to do?"

This time, the blonde stopped entirely. He wasn't going to answer that. No way in _hell_.

"Naruto." Clare continued her pace.

"He's too young!" Wasn't that obvious?

Undaunted, Clare added, "Tell us."

He closed his eyes again, and was quiet for a long, stressful moment. "In return for sparing certain people, and avoiding the people of the town-."

He had to pause, unable to continue that thought. Raki's lack of judgment helped him soldier through. "The main thing I had to d-do, was to keep quiet. She used my p-presence to d-disarm the people she hunted. She f-forced me to w-watch her kill, then w-wa-watch her _eat_."

He looked away, tears welling up in his eyes. "Then I had to ge-get rid of the bodies or bring them to a yoma meat market. A-an' s-sometimes she had me do, u-um." His voice was almost imperceptible, though frustration and impotence were evident. "O-o-other th-things that h-helped her out." He shuddered, almost feeling her disgusting presence tainting him, even in this very moment.

But when he saw disgust beginning to well in Raki's eyes, he almost screamed his defense. "I tried to warn every single one of her victims that I knew about. But everyone wrote me off as a jealous son, or an overprotective brother, or a jaded lover, or someone otherwise interested in Akemi."

"You did that?" Raki asked. "But didn't that break the agreement?"

"Yeah, but I made sure she wasn't watching when I did." He grew bitter. "But they didn't listen. Thankfully, Clare arrived just in time to save my life as well."

The boy nodded, "So you're the blacksmith's apprentice?"

"Was."

After that statement, the three were dead silent for what felt like hours.

Oddly enough, Clare was the one to first speak, after that. "Yoma are our common enemy. Of my breed, and yours alike." Her voice soothed Naruto's conflicting emotional state. "If you get the chance to kill one, or at least fight one before you're killed. Take it. Take it and show them no mercy nor hesitation, for they will give neither. Fight tooth and claw, or they will."

Naruto and the brown haired boy nodded in agreement.

Raki patted Naruto on the shoulder consolingly. "I'm sorry that happened to you, Naruto-san." The boy looked down. "I can't even begin to say how much I wished I was stronger. I wished I could have saved my family, and I wish I had the courage to even do half of what you did-."

He was interrupted by the older teen he was complimenting. "Let's just see that this never happens again to any of us, or any of the people in our travels."

The formerly depressed boy nodded with new vigor. "Yeah!"

For some reason, the male claymore couldn't help the smirk.

* * *

Night had fallen once more, and Raki, having had his fill of exhaustion, food and water, collapsed into a snore within seconds of his back hitting the dirt.

"Are you sure about carrying him?" Clare asked.

Naruto tied a cord they had used for a sack of food around his waist, then slipped his sword through, and tied the traveler's pack around the cord as well. The blonde groaned in slight pain as he stretched his fingers with relief. "Yeah. This'll cut the wait time down."

"You're not tired?"

"Nah," he waved off her concern, "as long as I've got food and water, I can keep going for a while. It's just when I sleep, I _sleep."_

"Very well."

"Will we need a torch for the journey, or can you see at night?" Reaching down gently, the blonde popped Raki over his right shoulder, and held the main part of his weight with a light arm.

He almost growled when Raki's chin hit the yoma flesh on his back. Said boy's nose curled in his sleep, as he began to murmur.

"I can see at night, will you need a torch?"

"Nah. I can see well enough." He could always see everything with extraordinary ease in the darkness, so he figured Clare could do the same.

She nodded once, then lead the way once more.

Within that hour, she occasionally slowed down, shot a glance in his direction, and was almost pleased to note that he didn't seem tired, nor weakened _and_ was matching her step by step.

Examining them, then specifically, Naruto from the corner of her eye, she began. "I want to apologize for putting you on the spot like that." Clare stated in monotone. "I didn't know the complete extent of what occurred, but I needed Raki on the same page as us. To realize there is not one single good, and decent yoma."

He bit his lip, but nodded. "It makes sense. He seems like a nice kid, and I'd hate for a demon to manipulate that against him."

"Indeed."

The blonde, having enough of being completely quiet on the trip, asked. "Hey, do you mind if I ask you a couple questions?"

Silver eyes regarded him. "Go ahead."

He had so many.

Ever since he found out why he was different, the questions on his limitations, lifestyle, and things to pay attention to, almost consumed him, especially lately.

"What exactly makes-..." He stopped himself before saying 'us'.

"...You different? You seem really normal, just with different colored eyes."

She blinked once, before staring forward down the path. "We are warriors, part of a collective, unnamed organization whose sole purpose is to exterminate yoma when told to do so." Her armor chimed lightly as she continued her pace. "We have taken in flesh and blood of the yoma, which bestows upon us superhuman speed and strength."

"That's it?"

"In a nutshell, yes. There are other things that we have to worry about occasionally."

"Wow." Naruto whispered, intrigued about his race's lifestyle. "Why do they consider u-uh, you half breeds? You only took a chunk of yoma." His eyes widened. "Right?" He added quickly, so as to not garner attention.

"It can be argued that the effects of the flesh determine attributes of our entire mind and body."

"How?"

She kept her alignment in a forwardly direction. "Why all these questions?"

Lowering his blonde head, he whispered. "I'm sorry. I'd just like to know more about the one who saved my life."

Clare was quiet for a moment, before she answered his earlier inquiry. "It affects our entire person. How much we eat, how much we sleep, how often we breathe, our body's healing, our constitution, how strong, and how fast we are."

She continued walking in a steady pace, neither stopping, nor slowing. "Moreover it changes our human perceptions wholly. Our sight is where we can see sharper, process higher frames per second than average humans, and see in a wider variety of conditions."

Lifting her hand up, she stretched it to fit her gloves a little better. "Our hearing is more refined to the point we can hear a whisper, dozens of blade-lengths away, and hear the raspy breath a yoma takes in comparison to a human. Our nose can scent a wider spectrum, even to the point of picking up a yoma, whether it be from human consumption, or their personal hormones they exude."

How could he phrase the question of why she couldn't she see his color?

"How can you tell what's a yoma, and what isn't?"

"By their aura."

"Is it different than another angel?"

Her brow furrowed only slightly, until she processed what he meant. "Yes. They feel burning hot, we feel like a cooling presence."

So she _could_ see auras like he could! Though...a little differently.

"What's Raki and my feel?"

"Raki has no feel whatsoever."

"Huh? What's mine?"

"You have a warrior of my breed in your lineage somewhere, either as a parent, or a grandparent."

"How could you tell?" He asked, genuinely interested.

"You have a slightly cold aura, one almost non-existent." Her silver eyes shifted to him. "In addition, you have blonde hair and blue eyes, a rare trait and one only present amongst my fellow warriors, or their descendants."

Huh. Well that was useful to know. So silver eyed-angels could barely see him?

But if Akemi couldn't tell he was different just by looking at him...what kind of aura did the yoma see?

"Does it affect your other senses, like taste and touch?"

"Yes."

"How?"

She blinked. "Our nerve endings are no less than seven times as sensitive than human flesh. Our pain receptors, however, are trained out of us."

"Trained out of you?" Was the bewildered question.

Nodding once, she added. "Yes. By multiple surgeries, and varying injuries, such as dismemberment, whippings for disobeying orders, and full contact, no-holds-barred sparring."

His heart dropped. "They do _what? Dismembering?_!" She was still intact! That was just a joke, right? A terrible-

"Yes. Depending on whether or not we are an offensive or defensive type. If an offensive, they only dismember. If a defensive, they injure to the point of obliteration of that limb."

He was almost in tears when he said. "Tha's fricken evil."

"We are soldiers." She replied flatly, neither accusative, nor defensive.

"It's still evil."

"Perhaps. But it saves our lives and limbs at multiple occasions."

Wiping the water in his eyes with his left arm, he took a breath and remained quiet for a little bit.

"How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Fight for us? _Why?"_ He couldn't think of any other way of articulating it.

For the first time, Clare seemed stumped, mouth parting slightly, then closing. She did this several times. "Because we wish to protect what we once were." At least, that was how she felt.

Naruto was quiet. He always _was_ this way. He had no memory of being otherwise, so why should he protect? They treated him like a silver-eyed angel from the get-go, he never knew what it was like to actually be a human. To them he never was human, so why protect what he never was?

Did God, or His Son want him to? Was he made this way to be an ultimate weapon to save some of human lives, or something?

"May I ask a question?" Clare broke him from his reverie.

He shrugged, causing Raki to murmur in his back. "Sure."

"Do you have any special abilities, in comparison to the people you knew?"

His eyebrows furrowed in thought as to what the best, safe response should be.

"I guess I'm a little stronger and have a better constitution than most, but other than that, I don't think so."

She didn't make a sound. So he asked something.

"Do you mind if I ask another question?"

"Go ahead."

"Why do you guys make yourselves so recognizable? Can't you change your looks like the yoma do?" Like he could?

"We can take pills that negate our youki. When we do so, it changes the color of our eyes and hair, while limiting our maximum capacity in offensive techniques." She shook her head lightly. "The risk would be too great to shapeshift. It would require an even more complete change of our body, to the point where we would be even less human."

"Has there ever been someone like me, a descendant from your people, but with yoma flesh in them too?"

She was about to categorically renounce, reject, and destroy such a thought, until something seemed to completely hit her sideways, and shake her to her very core.

As evident by her thoughtful expression. "Maybe."

She maintained that expression, well through the night, even when they arrived at their destination a day early.

* * *

Naruto pressed the cotton weave to his chest, as he stood tall in the mirror in the dressing room.

It was a fairly tight pattern, and it hung loose around his chest and biceps, though tight around his forearms and back. Felt pretty good though. Smooth, instead of the coarse material he was used to wearing. Adding the dark brown cloak on top of that, the huge double-leather-layered backpack that extended from his butt, to the back of his head. _Plus_ the fancy hard leather sheathe, the dark shoes _and_ the belt, made it a very money-sack-hurting day.

He was tempted to flatten all his beras on the hardened leather armor, but eventually decided against it.

The good thing was, now he had some yoma flesh back in the reservoir on his back, so he could at least do minor transformations without feeling like he was trying to immolate himself.

He squeaked through the dressing room doors and held his arms out to the side. "So, uh. Whaddya think?"

Raki gave him a thumbs up. "Nice!"

"Yeah?" He asked, unsure, but kind of feeling like a bad ass with his cloak fluttering in the slightest breeze. "I don't want to waste my money."

"Yeah, it looks good Naruto-san."

"No need for formalities, Raki-san."

"Likewise." He blew Naruto a raspberry, causing said older teen to roll his eyes.

"Fine, fine." He tested his belt and his sheathe to make sure it was easily accessible and whipped out quickly.

"Naruto-sa-, Naruto, I mean."

"Yeah?"

"Can I hold your sword for a second?"

Naruto furrowed his brow, staring at Raki. "What for?" He wasn't going to chase squirrels or something, was he? Because if he was, count him out. He was done with his gator chasing days.

"I just want to see what it's like."

He shrugged, slipped it out of the sheathe, flipped it around in his hand and held it out by the tip. "Go ahead."

When Raki grabbed it by the handle, Naruto let go.

Raki almost fell over by the weight of the blade. "Uahh." He had to hold it by its back to heft it up to waist level. "Grab it, grab it, gra-!"

Naruto snapped it up by the handle and held it, allowing Raki to let go.

"Holy lord of _Rabona!"_

The blonde's brow furrowed. Wasn't Jesus, Lord of everywhere?

Well, better that Rabona guy be insulted anyway.

"Ohh." Raki leaned over, hands on his knees, heaving heavy breaths. "You could've warned me first! I thought it would be lighter than _that!"_

"What?" It wasn't _that_ heavy!

"It's over forty _pounds! _That's crazy! How can you even _walk_ with that thing?"

Would 'easy' sound rude? "I got used to it, I guess." He strode up to the counter, and laid out most of his beras on the table. The person behind the desk, handed him the backpack and the cloak, allowing him to whip it around his shoulders.

"I _guess."_ Raki said, almost disbelievingly.

"Come on, Raki, let's see if Clare's looking for the yoma yet." Raki followed him to the door, hand still on his lower back.

Just as Naruto opened the door to the shop, they both saw Clare pass by, cape flowing behind her.

She turned her head to the side, feeling their gaze. "Are you done getting dressed?"

"Yeah." Naruto scratched behind his head nervously. "Thanks for waiting."

"So! Did you get the yoma yet?" Raki added.

Clare nodded, and just then, the elder teen noticed the fleck of blood on her cheek. "The objective is complete."

That quick? They'd been in there, for like, fifteen minutes, _tops_. He growled when Raki presented an open hand, waiting for beras.

Passing it quickly to Raki, the blonde scowled at losing his bet.

The two boys strode up at a faster pace to her side, matching her steps. Naruto just looked up at the clear blue sky, then followed the white clouds making their lazy way, not even providing shade.

Raki on the other hand, murmured. "Sure, but when they want your help, they're all over you."

Naruto dropped his gaze back to earth and looked around. Everyone was staring at them, backing away, and muttering stuff under their breath. He yawned. "I don't even notice it anymore, Raki. No biggie."

Silver-eyes shifted to the blonde.

"Huh?" Raki asked, not getting what he meant.

Just then, Naruto realized his company, then processed that they weren't being cruel to him. "Oh. You're right Raki." He looked around, troubled that the glares, stares and overall hatred wasn't addressed at him. It felt _unfamiliar_... "That isn't right." He chose the most disgusted seeming human, the biggest, meanest, toughest looking asshole he could find, then settled his gaze on that one man.

His eyes flashed silver, with a black slit, then flipped to gold.

He exploded in laughter the minute that the man fell on his butt and crawled backwards. Naruto's eyes changed back to their light blue when he settled on the path again.

Smiling as he rubbed his cheek against the inner part of his hood, he wrapped himself up tighter. His new clothes felt really good.

Now, Clare had one more job before she had to meet up with her handler again.

Night came quickly, and once more, Raki was dead asleep. Naruto packed the rest of the camp in his bag, and picked the boy up no problem, resting him comfortably on his shoulder.

Clare led the way again as he followed her at her immediate left.

He chuckled when he heard Raki belt out a snore. It caught his eye when Clare smiled.

"Hey!" She turned to him, flat expression now in place. "You smiled."

She rotated her head, and looked at him almost puzzled. "Of course not."

"It was at least a smirk. I saw."

"You saw wrong."

"Did not."

She didn't play along and immediately fell silent.

"This is the second night you've had no sleep."

"Hm? Oh, yeah, I sleep every other day, sometimes another day after that. Takes about a week before I start getting hallucinations, no biggie."

Clare shifted her eyes to him. The yoma terrified and tortured him that much? How did he even survive and not just drop dead from a heart attack?

Perhaps his lineage had something to do with that. It was honestly the first time she ever met a blonde human, and one that was a descendant. She heard of the rarity such a sight was, so she was a little curious as to how he was set apart.

"When did Egon start treating you like an outcast?"

Naruto shot out of his own thoughts about her. "Huh? Oh, I can't really remember when they didn't."

Clare's eyes dimmed a little. "Did you have any friends?"

"Oh yeah, sure." He nodded, almost happily. "I had Sibyl, she took care of me at the orphanage, Isabelle. She was my friend since I can remember. She was the daughter of the bath house owner, the one that got killed?" The claymore nodded, listening. "Yeah, and she thought she saw me doing it."

"Did you tell her what happened?"

"Nah, I had to get out of there before they found me."

"What about your teacher?"

Naruto felt a pit grow in his stomach. "Well, she used to be. She said sorry before I left, but after she called me a demon, it was the final insult I could take, standing up." He sighed mournfully. "I needed a fresh start."

Clare could understand that.

"I'm glad you found me." He ducked his head and almost blushed. "I- not many people did anything that nice for me out of the kindness of their hearts. My teacher and the matron treated me nice because of my parents an'-."

"Excuse me for interrupting, but I thought you were an orphan?"

"Oh, I was, but I overheard them one time talking about them, couple days before I left." Where was he? Oh yeah. "Isabelle was the only one nice to me for existing. But otherwise, you and Raki were the only ones to treat me decent."

"I see."

"Hey Clare-san?" Her eyes shifted to him when he asked for her attention.

"Yes?"

"Do you think people hate ya' because of yoma?"

"How do you mean?"

He scratched his cheek with a free hand. "You know how yoma can shapeshift, well, do they do the same with the angels?"

Once more, Clare was caught off guard, having been used to 'Claymore' for so long. "It's possible. It is equally possible for poor representatives of my kind."

"Oh." How the hell was it possible to misrepresent a good angel? Unless...

He decided to slip in a personal question that could benefit him as well. "Do you ever get angry for no reason, or snap over something small?"

The claymore was eerily silent on the matter. "Occasionally."

"Is there any way to control it?"

"Yes."

"How?"

Silver eyes shifted to him, almost suspiciously. "Willpower." When he seemed downcast by the answer, she asked. "Why?"

Naruto picked up on her leeriness. "Just wondered if it was easier for you to control than me." He chuckled lightly. "Man, you should have seen me the weeks before you showed up, I was stuffing myself in people's faces, and yellin' at 'em. I was going _nuts!"_

It put her at ease.

Isolation would almost always do that to a human. "Do you ever feel stronger when certain emotional barriers are met?"

Naruto's brow furrowed. "You mean like if I'm angry?" She nodded lightly. "Nah." He added. "When I'm cornered." That was the only time he wanted more strength, and his body seemed to respond.

Her head snapped around to stare at him, even as he continued their previous pace. "What happens?"

She continued walking as Naruto shrugged. "I dunno'. Just feel stronger all of a sudden."

Were one of his parents, one of her kind? "Do your eyes ever change color?"

"No." He lied.

"Does your face feel different, or do your teeth grow?"

"No." That only happened once anyway, he thought, so it was a whiter lie.

"Do your limbs change?"

"Nope!" He was lying through his teeth. Though _he_ forced his limbs to do what he wanted, they didn't change automatically, though they just found a more useful way of doing what he wanted, sometimes. "Why?"

"No reason." She set her eyes forward on the road once more.

Perhaps one of his grandparents was a fellow warrior.

* * *

Clare slammed her sword in the gravel, and leaned against it, just on the entrance of town.

"So this is the next one?" Naruto scratched his chest and readjusted his pants as he leaned over the backpack. "Kinda small."

"How are our supplies, Naruto?" Raki asked.

Blue eyes darted to the boy. "Well, we filled up all our water supply about...ten miles ago. We still got some smoked gator left, our clothes are in good condition...and..." His eyes squinted in thought. "Well, everything else seems good."

"How are the spices?"

"Ah! Yeah, we need some salt and pepper, along with a couple cinnamon sticks, very good, thanks Raki. Our flint and utensils seem pretty good."

"No problem." Brown eyebrows furrowed. "Do you think we should get a pot and some S-hooks to have some different types of food?"

"Good idea. I'll get the pots, and hooks if you get the spices and stuff?"

"We'll meet back here?" The scar over Raki's eye caught Naruto's attention for some reason.

"Yeah, sounds good. Clare could use some rest. Last one's a rotten egg." They bumped fists as they headed off.

The blonde was enjoying sprinting through the center of the wide, paved street looking for the classic hammer and anvil sign. Spotting one, he pushed the door open, causing it to squeal. He had a smile on his face, until he saw an apprentice and master working at the forge.

And the master had that _terrific_ red aura.

His entire stance changed as his eyes glazed over. His tongue darted out from his mouth as he could smell its overwhelming odor.

Only the apprentice's occasional slam with the sledge kept him from going right in and eating the creature.

The blonde walked out through the front door, allowing it to gently close behind him.

Now here was an opportunity to get some of his hunger sated. He walked with his head down on the sidewalk.

He waited until he saw someone with his kind of height, and body type, until he bumped into the man purposefully with his shoulder.

Their eyes met, as he took in every feature within seconds.

Nose. Slight curve at the bridge. Mole in the center, nostrils flat with sides.

Eyes. Light brown. Striations visible, no bloodshot. Slightly sunken. Lips. Pursed. A pale pink.

Chin, dimpled. Neck, thin. Jaw, square. No beard. Hair. Black, short, and stuck together from grease.

Clothes. Hemp material, loose, and a cord at the waist.

"Sorry." Naruto bowed respectfully, eyes swirling into a light brown, with visible strata to his iris.

"S'okay." Western dialect. Foreigner.

His vocal chords adjusted as he whispered. "D'anks." He continued walking until he hit an alley, then he crept in it.

He already was the man's doppelganger for all intents and purposes.

He stripped off his cloak, his shirt, and his pants extremely quickly, as his body shifted matching clothes to the man he bumped into earlier.

He kept the sword.

Walking quickly back to the blacksmith shop, he barged in, and gruffly said. "Ey! 'Prentice kid."

The boy looked over at him, and Naruto got nervous. The apprentice looked just like Raki. "What's that, mister?"

"Ge'me some S-hooks an' a fire pot. An' hurry up, I'm gettin' 'ungry." The moment the boy hop-stepped out back, Naruto, still in disguise, walked towards the boss of the kid.

"Heh, so what do you want to talk about, brother?" The yoma's grin stretched wide.

"You could tell?" Naruto asked in his own voice.

"Course. It's hard ta' tell, but you're lettin' out a little youki." The yoma looked proud of itself. "I'm one of the best sensors of our kind."

"So you can actually _see_ youki?" The blonde asked, walking slightly closer.

"Nah." The yoma waved him off as it lifted his hammer to his shoulder, and rested the triangular fuller part there. "Like I said, it's really 'ard to tell with ya, so just be wary of those blonde fleshbags. Thought I saw one come in earlier, but didn't feel nothin' coming from him. Plus, they only come in one gender these days."

Oh? Very good.

"So what can I do for you?" It puffed a breath. "The meat market hasn't arrived in a couple months, though they were scheduled to be here a couple weeks ago. Dunno what happened, but maybe she's on the move."

"Oh, so you know Akemi?" Naruto rested his right hand on his right hip.

"Know her? Ha! Best friends wit' her."

Naruto stepped his pace, as his eyes closed lightly, "You know. There is _one_ thing you can do for me."

"Wassat?"

"I sure hope you ate the master's brains."

Glung!

Naruto grabbed the yoma by the hair and slammed his head on the anvil, emitting a low pitch ring. Its body buckled underneath its weight.

He whipped out his sword and stabbed the creature in the back and ribs.

Once.

Shlink!

Twice.

Sglink! He hit the anvil a little.

Lifting up the yoma's limp head, and his body a little with it, he swiped the three foot blade across his throat, and sliced it through, cleanly.

Shlick!

His shirt exploded into hundreds of small tendrils that wrapped around the yoma's body, lifting it and then dissolving it completely within a handful of seconds.

Just when he was down to the yoma's bones, his tendrils lifted the cadaver behind him, and kept it out of his sight, even as he transformed himself into the master blacksmith.

His body grew about another foot in height, as all his attributes slowly, and he was down to consuming the femur bone, just when the boy walked in with his purchase.

"Thought I heard something fell, but I didn't hear a scream or anything. You..." The boy looked down, eyebrows furrowed. "You didn't eat him, did you?"

So the kid knew that the blacksmith was a yoma?

He answered gruffly. "No. Kid. You're free to take what you want from my shop." Naruto whipped out a quill from the desk, as well as a chunk of paper, and signed a document with a signature that wasn't his. "This is yours now." The slice of paper was in his two fingers as he handed it to the boy. "Now get out of here."

Raki's eyes stared back at him, through the apprentice. "You're not going, to...you know..."

"What?"

Just as he asked-

"_**Tha's it boy. Ohh, keep goi-." **__A pl-_

Naruto lurched back to reality from his flashback, falling on his hands and knees, and vomiting. He lurched several times, trying to suppress the mental picture.

He growled low as his eyes switched to gold, and veins crackled and formed from his ears, to his mouth. "I should have _tortured_ you, you _**bastard! **__Eaten _you _alive._" He barked in his own voice, causing the apprentice to flinch, back, nearing tears. "No, I'm sorry, boy. Not you. I mean the yoma."

"Oh." The boy was quiet for a moment, then looked up, hopeful. "You're not the yoma?"

"Absolutely not!" Naruto replied, almost offended. "I just finished eating him and you don't have to fear it anymore, _ever._"

"Eating..." The young apprentice murmured. "If you're not the yoma, then what are you?" The boys eyes were less fearful, though still had a tone of it.

He thought for a moment as his eyes switched to silver, and his original disguise took its place. "A guardian angel."

"An _angel?"_ The boy asked disbelievingly. "Really?"

Hating to lie, he added. "Of a sort."

"Wow." His eyes shone. "Can you show me your wings?"

Naruto grinned, as he spoke in the voice of the man he bumped into earlier. "Nah, not all of us have 'em. Don't say a word about me to the town though, okay kid?" He rested a comforting hand on the apprentice's shoulder.

"Yes sir!"

"Good. Now enjoy the shop, and all this prick's money, got it?"

"Really?" The boy's brown eyes were almost in tears.

"Yeah kid." He ducked down and gave the boy a hug, ignoring the flinch. Whispering in his ear, he added. "Now go kick some ass."

He let go, and let the kid run off. Naruto's heart lightened as he saw the spiritual weight on the boy, lift, even just a little bit. Sending up a quick prayer for the boy, he took the pot and stuffed the s-hooks in it.

Heading back to the alley in a daze, he shifted back to his blonde hair, blue eyed form, then dressed up. His eyes were glued to the ground, slowly ambling back to where he left Raki and Clare.

His heart skipped a beat...

What if there was another one?

...Then pounded.

His eyes flashed silver as he dashed down the street. The flat blue eyes stared forward, as they watered from the wind exploding in his face. Turning on the side of his foot, he darted down the main road, back to the gate.

Tension fled him, as he saw Raki sitting with a board stuck in the ground, right across the way from Clare who sat with her arms closed.

He exhaled as his adrenaline faded. They were okay.

The brown haired boy turned his head towards him, then waved. Naruto lifted up the pot in response.

"Rotten egg!" Raki called out.

Yeah, he could live with that.

"Mah!" Naruto playfully objected. "I had to almost watch the moron make the damn thing. It was insulting!"

"Quit with the excuses, I won fair and square."

"Maybe!" Naruto strolled closer, pot hanging over his shoulder. "Lemme see what you got."

Raki's grin entered the territory of 'shit eating' as he lifted a bag filled with a variety of spices. As well as some white, fluffy looking things.

"What the hell is that?" He was now feet away from the boy.

"Marshmallows. I figured we could have some tonight." Raki looked closer at Naruto. "You look like death warmed over."

Naruto waved him off, though his gut clenched when he first looked at their young companion. He looked just like that apprentice.

"It's the loss. I _never_ lose." He lied, but pouted anyway.

"Are we resupplied?" Clare asked, eyes still closed.

"Yes."

"Don't leave my side unless I _explicitly_ say so, from now on. Understood?"

Naruto ducked his head, as did Raki. The blonde didn't even keep his promise of keeping an eye on Raki at all times.

That could have turned out bad.

They both whispered, "Yes."

"Good." Her eyes snapped open. "Let's go and see the chief."

They nodded and hung behind her as she set the group's pace.

The young blonde orphan took in his surroundings. As they got closer to the government hall, the ground became darker, and grimier from its well worn nature.

But every time he so much as closed his eyes, he could see the apprentice looking up at him in tears.

He didn't blink often on their way.

Nor did he see the accusative stares right away, or the murmurs directed at his leader, nor the chattering Raki was making to cover it up.

When he did, he had to blink away tears.

What a good kid.

Wood creaked beneath them, as they entered single file in the town head's office. The blonde looked up from the ground to see who was at the desk.

When his hackles rose immediately.

A red aura.

His fists gripped tight with rage. Maybe this one wouldn't sate his appetite, but his emotional turmoil. The second he looked twice, his fury tripled.

This one, he recognized from their nightly jaunts with Akemi.

Naruto couldn't be sure if his eyes flashed gold.

Resting a hand on Clare, he kept his head down as he made a request. "Can you get a little closer to the town head?"

Silver eyes, and a flat expression stared at him.

"Please?"

She did. They were now ten feet away.

"Thanks." He gripped his sword and ripped it from his sheathe. He took a step around Clare.

The town head yoma's eyes widened.

Naruto leapt just out of Clare's reach, and landed on the table before the yoma. The table rocked beneath his feet, just as he could feel claws extending from its right hand.

He chopped the right arm off of the yoma, causing it to screech a blood curdling scream. But when blood sprayed on his hardened scowl, he didn't stop to take another swipe of the yoma's other arm on its way to pierce his side. Said arm bounced against him powerlessly, not even shredding cloth.

He sheathed his sword.

Gripping the yoma by the shirt with both hands, he lifted him out of the seat and tossed him into the wall behind him, then grabbed it by the hair with his left hand. He dropped on the ground, and slammed its head repeatedly into the floor, roaring angrily as he did so.

Crack! The floor dented beneath them.

Dungk! The yoma's nose buckled as he howled in pain, disguise failing.

Dungk! Its teeth chipped, as it started gurgling.

Dungk! Naruto's eyes were a vicious gold, glaring down coldly at the creature he was killing slowly.

His face didn't change.

Dungk! He didn't even hear the people screaming murder at the doorway. Nor did he feel the creature's skull chipping away, piece by piece.

Dun-! He paused when he felt a hand on his shoulder, and heard the releasing grind of a blade.

"Allow me to finish."

Naruto smirked as his eyes flashed back to his original color. He looked over his shoulder, smirk still in place, even as he leaned against the very thing he was destroying. "Of course."

The second the words left his mouth, the tip of her blade crushed and split the demon's skull in two. Naruto rose to his feet, and kicked it once in the ribs for good measure, causing the body to twitch away from the blow. "Bastard."

He turned around, and most of the town gasped fearfully.

His face was spotted with blood, and a chunk of bone. He had to force every cell in his body to avoid eating the dead yoma in public, just so they wouldn't get the full image.

"What the hell was that?" Raki asked, eyes widened in shock as he saw Naruto turn into something else entirely.

"Expiating my rage on a demonic being that I've seen before." Raki's eyes widened with surprise.

"So he-?" Raki couldn't finish the sentence.

Went to a meat market?

"Yep."

"Sorry, it just kinda startled me to see you do that!" Raki beamed him a grin. "That was pretty cool though, just scary at first. I almost thought you were doing it to a person."

Clare snapped her blade back into its holster after having flicked flesh off with a professional undulation. "Our work is done." She looked over her shoulder at the people crowding the door, a blood fleck under her eyes. "A man in black will be sent to collect the money, you will give it to him then."

The town nodded, as the three travelers brushed past, Naruto and Raki with a grin, and Clare without any expression whatsoever.

* * *

"Clare! Clare! Did you see what he did? Wasn't that _awesome?"_

"Heh-heh!" Naruto rubbed behind his head, nervous at being complimented so profusely. "Well, who's the rotten egg now, Raki, huh?"

"You still! But that was really _cool."_

"Oh come on! Don't I get upgraded to maggot or something? Maybe even a brown egg?"

"Nope! Still rotten."

"Aw-."

"We'll stop here for now to get cleaned up. Raki, you stay here, but off the road." Before Naruto could bring up any objections, she stated. "There's a waterfall nearby, and I don't feel a soul coming this way from either direction."

The blonde felt nervousness worm in his gut as she beckoned him towards a solitary location. He was quiet, with every step they took across the hilly terrain, every twig he broke, he grew more and more introspective.

Was she going to kill him?

As they got deeper and deeper into the forest, slowly but surely, the sound of a waterfall became noticeable.

When they finally arrived, his face slackened at its beauty, a light rainbow hovering in the mist from the collapsing wall of water. His pace picked up as he almost ran to its edge in amazement. "Wow! Is this real?" He smiled as he dipped his face in the water and reveled in the icy liquid as it crawled across his skin. Popping his head back with a grin, he stared at Clare as she looked back at him.

His grin dropped when he saw her serious expression.

"What's the matter Clare?"

"You got more blood on you, than I did, so you bathe first." Her silver eyes pierced his blue ones. "But before you do. Take off your shirt."

"What?" What was she saying?

"Remove your shirt." She looked _violent._

He swallowed. "Wh-why?" She wasn't like the y-yoma, right? His fingers twitched towards his blade.

"Just do it." She ordered.

Keeping his eyes locked on her, he growled as he ripped the shirt up and off. "Now what?!" He barked, causing her to readjust her stance.

She stared at his flat stomach, then turned around and left, simply stating over her shoulder. "Nothing. I'll ask you later."

What the hell was that about?! He didn't want her to see the yoma flesh on his back, dammit!

Stalking angrily towards the water, he stripped down, jumped in and swam towards the column beating down. He groaned in pleasure as it almost crushed his frame.

**Wasn't that **_**so**_ **much fun?**

He snapped to attention, eyes searching for his blade.

**The only question, _dear_, is why you didn't finish off the other yoma? Hm? It looked quite delicious, yes?**

"Where are you?!" He barked out to the air, seeing no aura nearby, and no deadly creature ready to pounce.

**Oho, so you can hear me? You think I'm out there? No sweetie, I'm **_**on**_ **you. Mmmhmhmhm.**

His eyes widened as he felt his flesh squirm on his back, almost acknowledging his attention.

**Had you not resisted my**_**...desire**_ **to consume, I wouldn't be speaking with you now.**

"Had I not resisted," he growled, "there would have been an order to spike me through."

**Not one you couldn't simply...avoid? Yes, avoid, by letting me have your reigns every once in a while. Or, should you so choose, you could also consume those sent to attack. Yes?**

"Who are you?"

**I'm the one that listens, the **_**only**_ **one that does, when you ask for things. Such as power, or a change in identity. Really, you are such an uncreative being, I wish I had been sewn to an artist rather than this dull boy.**

"Your name?"

**Oh dear, you couldn't guess by now? I'm **_**Vuripes**_**.**

"You're the one that killed my family." It wasn't a question. Now it made sense.

**It wasn't anything personal, I promise, dearie. I only eat yoma flesh, and your mother's was calling me by name.**

Shivering, he could hear a wet slurping sound as the voice in his head, licked its imaginary mouth.

**Had your father not interfered, he would have been still alive to this day. Imagine that. Can you, I wonder? Mmmhmhmhm.**

"Can I force you to shut up?"

**Oh **_**sure,**_ **sugar baby. **His brow furrowed at its annoying form of address for him. **Honey child.** He could almost hear its smile as it went out of his way to piss him off. **But I can make all those you ever consumed **_**start talking at the same time**_**. Fun for me. Not for you.**

He sighed as he scrubbed his back with the palm of his hand. "So what do you want?"

**Oh, nothing much. Not like your **_**soul**_ **or anything, baby doll, I have no claim to that. Just friends that I can torture, maim and consume here, in this...fleshly prison.**

"I'm not eating humans!" He barked defiantly.

**I never asked you to. Think of me, as your...prison guard, and what you consume as...prisoners. See?**

"Do you torture the humans that they eat?"

**Oh **_**no**_ **sweet stuff. **He rolled his eyes. _**Unfortunately,**_ **they are already on the other plane in either eternal bliss or punishment. But demons, see, **_**those**_ **I have full control over, to do with, what I wish, as I wish, see?**

"So you want me to eat yoma?"

**Yes. As many as you can at any given time. Mmm, I can almost **_**taste**_ **them.**

"That's it?"

**Yes.**

He was already planning on it. Should he? "All right, what's the catch?"

**None! Absolutely, **_**positively**_**, none, sweet heart!**

"And why should I believe you?"

**Well, let me guess. I'm the one who gives you all your cool visualization powers! I'm the one, who shape shifts you when you need to. I **_**am**_ **the one to keep you stabilized when you're injured. Frankly, eating yoma is the least you can do to please me.**

"And _frankly_, sugar, sweetness, baby doll, you sound like the devil incarnate."

Had Vuripes just stuck with the torturing yoma bit, he would have gladly consumed every beast he ran across. But something about it, how it said there was no catch, and how it was doing everything...

Something about it, just didn't feel right.

**Oh! The pain from hearing such words escape the lips of my poor precious baby! Oh! The **_**agony**_**! **There was a light pause. **At least you have **_**some**_ **balls. Not much between the two, but, some. It's a start.**

"So you say you can stop my abilities at any time?"

**Why, yes! I'm so glad you asked.**

He snorted derisively. "Then you better start."

**Excuse me?** The voice of Vuripes was no longer amused.

"You heard me. Starve to death."

Naruto stared at his reflection, and switched his eyes to a hazel hue.

Or tried to.

**I told you, I am the one-**

"Who can kiss my ass, you prideful pain in the nuts. If I could excise you, I would."

There was a low growl in his mind. Then it stopped. **You know. **Vuripes chuckled. **This won't be so bad after all. I'll just take **_**all**_ **of my abilities back, and utterly **_**enjoy**_ **watching you lose your friends, one, **_**by**_**, one.**

Growing a cruel lilt, it continued. **Only this time, well, **_**next time**_**, when you beg me, on hand and knee, pleading with the depths of your soul to save them. I will only come answer when you watch them **_**die**_**. Then, I will take you over, and return to my old ways, leaving you as a subconscious pain in the ass. Goodbye, sweet cheeks, and I'll see you again soon. Mmmhmhmhm.**

Naruto exhaled an uncomfortable breath. He looked down at his hand, trying to transform it, even a little.

Nothing.

But if Vuripes took all the abilities he had away...

How...how could he still see auras?

Shaking himself off, he went back to his clothes, and put them on one by one, then finished off his ensemble, by clipping on his sheathe.

The sword still _felt_ light...

He never noticed how his eyes were only a remnant shade of blue.

When he got back to the road where Clare and Raki were hanging out, Clare took her leave towards the natural bath.

Raki said, "Naruto, you look a little different."

He blinked in surprise. "How?"

"Your eyes. They kinda look lighter."

Naruto's fingertips repeatedly pressed up against his eyelids. Raki was still covered in a blue aura, and Naruto still had his dark maroon aura, though it was significantly smaller. "Must be the time of day." It was still bright out though...

What the hell happened? If Vuripes could take away everything, why was he still like an angel? Just without the shapeshifting?

Something wasn't adding up.

They waited about ten minutes for Clare to return, and Clare guided Raki back to the waterfall. After he was done, they made their way on the road again. The journey lost its somber note around night time as they all huddled around an orange fire for their dinner.

After they ate some more of the alligator, Raki pulled out the marshmallows, chuckling lightly, and handing the other two, some sticks, a straight, branch-less one. Naruto caught on, and was way past asking if the stick was clean when he stuck the marshmallow on the tip.

"Now what?" Was he supposed to share it, like in that one story that the minister brought up?

"Stick it in the fire!"

"In the _fire?"_ Even Clare looked opposed to holding a lit branch.

"Just enough to crisp the outside, and maybe blacken it a little bit. Like this." Sure enough, Raki held the tip of his stick just above the flames, twisting the stick occasionally, until it looked like the edge of the fluffy white thing would fall off.

Naruto shamelessly copied Raki's technique to a T, unsure of the point.

Raki tittered lightly, as he brought the marshmallow stick to his mouth, and chewed delightedly.

Just about to pull his away from the fire, Raki grabbed his hand and said, "You gotta' twist it a little more in the fire. Takes a couple minutes, otherwise you'll have a hard core and it won't be as gooey or as good."

Even Clare seemed to follow the orders, as she watched the white thing burn bemusedly.

"No, no! Twist it, Clare-onee-san." She blinked and did as she was told. "Yours should be ready, onii-sa-." He lost his former brightness when the words escaped his mouth.

Naruto smirked and was just about to eat his crusty white thing, when he said, "Thanks for the instructions, Raki-nii." Said boy smiled lightly as Naruto scarfed the marshmallow down.

Holy crap! It was awesome!

The expression alone seemed to catch Clare's attention, as she pulled hers from the flames to chew some of the crust off.

Both, chewed the sugary delight blissfully unaware of life, its meaning, or anything of the sort.

"Raki." Naruto smacked his lips. "That was one of the best things I've ever eaten. Period. I'm contemplating naming my children after you."

Raki laughed as he pulled out a few more, and tossed them around. "Yeah, well, it would be a good name!"

"Hell yeah!" Naruto stuffed his marshmallow on a stick and roasted it, barely holding himself back from devouring it when he first saw brownish bubbles.

Clare single-mindedly roasted her marshmallow, strategically twisting it frequently for an even burn.

Raki leaned back resting his arm on his knee as the stick bobbed over the fire.

Naruto, impatient, stuffed the burning sweet down his throat, and groaned in pleasure. Shame he was full.

Screw it, he was getting another one.

"This reminds me of when me, and nii-san were out hunting a deer." Raki smiled lightly. "We saw this _big_ buck, I mean, it must have been twice my size." Naruto pictured said deer, as he was licking the remnants off his teeth. "It was absolutely beautiful, _majestic_. When we first saw it, it was like the world stopped, just froze so we could watch it stand in defiance."

The brown haired boy tittered lightly. "It was the first deer hunt I had ever been on, and when Zaki handed me the crossbow, and told me to shoot it, it was like...no. Hell no. The first deer I had ever seen? What was he, _crazy?"_

"What happened?" Clare asked, unsure of what to be enraptured by, the story, or the mallow.

"I missed of course!"

Naruto laughed. "Nice!"

"Heck no!" Raki waved him off. "We were stuck eating beans for months. I didn't miss the second time."

Grinning cock eyed, Naruto roasted another 'mallow on the stick and watched it bubble. He leaned back and on his side to get more comfortable. "Heh. This kinda reminds me of when me an' Isabelle were younger." He scratched his cheek, lop-sided grin still in place. "I didn't know how to start a fire, but Isabelle did. She showed me how to use hardened steel, and some flint we nicked off this river, right?"

He chuckled, embarrassed, as Raki almost devoured every word. "So, after she showed me, I thought, hey, this has some good pranking material, you know? _Fire_?" His grin stretched wider. "Or at least some cool effects. So I went to the, uh, chief's house, uh, office, office, I mean. And I saw some paper on the desk."

Raki shook his head, grin in place, while Clare watched the two with interest.

"I got some paper, and I folded it into a flier, you know? Oh man, thinking on it now, I must'a been a pyro. Anyway, I wanted to make that flier go right through the flame, just to see what happened."

"Oh no." Raki said, amused.

"Oh yeah! Lit right up, lifted before it crashed and burned. There's still a scorch mark on his floor to this very day. Got a lickin' from the matron _an'_ the town head, but Isabelle got scot free." He shook his head. "After that, it was free game on the town head. While I deserved every strap whack, I didn't think it at the time when it was still hurtin', right?"

"You didn't!"

"Yup! Played another prank on 'im." Naruto got to his feet to demonstrate. "So I snuck in at night. Keepin' quiet, and I brought a han' saw, and a small hand drill with me." Raki's face stretched in disbelief. "I sawed some of the chair's legs at an angle, drilled a small hole. Nothing big, about the size of a needle." He snorted as he added. "Stuck toothpick in the hole, just enough to make it so he could drag the chair around, and lift it up, without the prank being obvious. Used some candle wax as a...temp, glue, like."

"Oh man!"

"Oh yeah." Naruto tried to suppress his grin as he feigned pride. "Showed up early that morning, just to watch my handiwork. It was _glorious._" He waved his hands in emphasis. "When he landed, I said, 'that's what happens to those who sit in my chair!"

"What did he do?"

The blonde shrugged, eyes growing distant. "Nothin' actually. He just broke down, laughing. Said it reminded him of his daughters."

"Were they pranksters like you and-" Raki searched for a name, "Isabelle?"

He cocked his head to the side. "Dunno. Never met 'em. Most I know, is that they were twins." He ducked his head towards Clare. "And they were taken by the organization as payment."

All watched the flames lick up, as they kept silent.

Naruto's expression shifted to a smile. "It'll be fun to meet 'em one day though." He shifted his gaze to Clare. "You ever hear of Alicia, or Beth?"

She shook her head lightly. "I haven't paid attention to many of my fellow warriors. However, if I should come upon their name, I'll let you know."

"Thanks. If I ever go back to Egon, I'll let the chief know that his daughters are doing awesome." He snickered. "Wonder if they'll join me in pranking the ol' man." Shifting his gaze to Raki, he said, "Sorry Raki, but I don't think I'll be able to carry you tonight. I feel kinda tired."

"That's fine. We'll get an early day tomorrow, right Clare?"

She nodded once.

Naruto fell on his back, and fell into a light sleep shortly thereafter, as did Raki.

Clare single-mindedly focused on demolishing the entire paper bag of marshmallows.

* * *

_**She can affect your abilities. Not who you are.**_

_**Dig.**_

Naruto's eyes snapped open. Who said that? His head shifted to the left and saw Raki hanging over him.

"Hey! I was about to wake you up. You sleep pretty hard, Naruto-nii."

He got up, and felt sore from staying in one position for hours too long. He patted Raki on the back, and said. "Sure do." He picked up the backpack, threw it over his shoulder, and started walking in the direction they were all headed.

He rubbed his chest, his heart beating fast due to waking up and going quickly.

"We're less than a day's walk. We should arrive in the afternoon." Clare said, still leading the pack.

Great. "Alright then. Ready bro?"

"Yep!"

Within hours, Clare had about a couple hundred foot lead over their lazy stroll.

"So Raki, anything interesting happen with you and Clare, before you picked my sorry butt up?"

"Huh? Oh, no, not really. She saved my life at my town, but I was kinda..." He murmured. "Scared. I didn't treat Clare right. When they kicked me out of town, I followed her into the next town, apologized, and thanked her for what she did. Ever since, I've been the camp's cook!"

Naruto ruffled his hair and gave him a thumbs up. "Moving up the ladder! Pretty soon you'll be demon slayer, 'straordinaire! Just keep Clare as your sidekick, no matter how good you get."

"Of course I would!" Raki blurted, almost offended.

The blonde, sensing an opportunity to tease his new friend, attacked ruthlessly. "Oh? Or would you want her as something more than friends." He wiggled his eyebrows, causing Raki to groan. "I can understand _perfectly."_

Raki's eyes narrowed lightly. "Was'sat supposed mean?"

His lopsided smirk grew with every word. "Well...I'm just _saying._ If someone was not only that pretty, but that strong, and that _nice?_ And she saved your life? Plus!" Naruto lifted a finger. "She's probably _loaded, '_cause she doesn't do much extra for herself. I'm just saying, Raki. You couldn't have aimed much higher."

"I know." Raki said, almost disheartened.

The blonde's eyebrows arched significantly.

Raki really did? He was like, thirteen, right?

His grin softened, became less teasing and more understanding. "All right Raki. Look at her." Raki obliged. "With all that I just said, with how nice she is to us, and how good she is as a person, why the hell would you _ever_ give up on 'er?"

Raki's brown eyes shifted to him. "If you feel like she's the one deigned by God, then pursue her." Naruto looked down into Raki, sharp eyes glinting. "And don't give up. Ever."

Both walked in comfortable silence for a little while.

"Thanks." Raki whispered genuinely. "What about you?"

Huh?

Naruto shifted his gaze from up front, to Raki again. Blonde eyebrows furrowing, he asked. "How do you mean?"

"Do you have anyone special to you?"

"You and Clare." He said flatly, knowing where the boy was going, but hoping he'd drop it.

"But I mean, like how I feel about Clare."

The blonde claymore snorted, almost bitterly. "I gotta get over my own issues before I start pursuing anyone."

"What about back in your old town?"

"No, Raki. No." He was a little sharper in tone. "I used to like Isabelle like that I guess, but it was puppy love. Nothing more."

"What changed?"

Naruto sighed as he lowered his head. "Raki, let's put it this way." He explained. "Isabelle saw me eat _guts." _The boy winced at how he bit in the word. "Even if she knew I was innocent, that's not a picture you can just... _will_ away. She'd have nightmares, if I put my face close to hers to hug 'er, she'd explode in fear that I'd _eat_ her, I mean, that's kind of like-. A no go there. Ever. I don't want to torture her." He shrugged. "She was too good to me for that."

He turned to Raki and held his hands at the side. "Now don't get me wrong. I don't hold it against her, I mean, it'd be like if your brother came around that corner, and said, 'hey, I'm alive.' You might accept him back, but you'd never be the same."

"Yes I would!"

"Would you?" Naruto asked disbelievingly.

"Yes!" Raki insisted.

"And what if he was a yoma?"

"Then of course not! That's crazy."

Naruto smirked, with a sorrowful note to it. "Well how do you know, that it ain't a yoma sayin' its your brother?"

Raki stared back at him, almost making Naruto be the first to avert his gaze. "I don't. But I'd give him a chance."

The blonde's jaw slackened as he stopped completely. "What?"

"I'd give him a chance!"

There.

It was there.

That very moment that Naruto came to his first major decision. If what the boy said was true, if he was genuine...he would vow upon his soul, that he would die a tortured wreck before _any_ harm came to the boy. He would destroy, obliterate, and otherwise rend the very soul of someone that so much as _wished_ Raki harm.

But the only question was, was it true.

The blonde grinned wide. "Sure hope so Raki."

"So!" Raki began, happy to have gotten Naruto on a better frame of mind. "What would you look for in a future wife?"

Naruto belted out a laugh, even slapping his leg. "That's a little far out for me."

"You must've _thought_ about it?"

"Well, _yeah _but-."

"Then what?"

The blonde smirked as he looked skyward, eyes amused. "Well. Anyone who wouldn't see me as a yoma pretty much." He laughed harder at that thought. "I'd see from there, haven't really gotten past that hurdle."

"Why would someone see _you_ as a yoma?" Raki inquired, curious and genuine as he almost always was.

Naruto's eyes widened at having been semi-caught. "Well, if they knew that I came from another town where my mom was a _yoma-."_

"You could keep that a secret, as well as being a meat market person." Naruto cringed. "And not everyone would judge you either of those, right? I mean you did it to survive, and save people. You even tried to warn them!"

Finally, Naruto settled on something simple. "Raki. As much as I'd love to think that, there are some things about me that you just flat out don't know about. Stuff that almost got me killed in my home town." He waved his arms dismissive towards any question. "That's where I'm leaving it. I'm not a yoma, but people just don't care anymore either way about the truth."

"But..." Raki looked...sad. "You're nice and stuff, don't you deserve a chance?"

"No, Raki. I don't." His blue eyes darkened. "But I want one. For all I know, I'd fail, but at least I had the opportunity, you know? That's more than most..."

"You'll find someone, Naruto. I promise."

Said elder teen smirked. "What if I liked Clare though..."

"I'd kick your ass! But may the best man win."

Naruto tapped his mouth with an index finger. "Technically, if you're the best man, and you're interested in the bride, you already lost..."

"Well, the better man, then."

The blonde laughed.

* * *

"So, eh, what happened here again?" Naruto's eyes shifted from door, to every boarded window on the block.

"Twenty-seven eaten. This month alone." Flat silver eyes scanned the town.

Naruto's jaw dropped as his eyes bugged out. "Twenty seven! In a month?!" His teeth ground as his hand snapped to his sword, whipping it out angrily.

Clare put a hand on his chest, and pushed him behind her. "Stay back with Raki. Keep near the walls."

While he was enraged at the yoma, Naruto did as he was told.

Twenty-seven.

His grip tightened on his blade, causing the sound of creaking leather as he did so. He held his left arm defensively around Raki. "Raki. Stay by my side at all times.

That had to be at least seven yoma, right?

A dust storm whipped by, causing Naruto to squint through the assault.

Was that a lone human walking down the street? Were they a survivor?

And then he saw the red aura that followed the being, and growled. The demon was _that_ cocky!

Clare stood defiant in the street, as did the yoma across the way. "So you're the yoma?"

"Yup! Sure got that right in one, you should stick to that intuition of yours. Serves right by ya'." The yoma looked around the town, purposefully, as if mocking her. "Never thought you'd come alone, I was kind of hoping there'd be more of you to _play_ with." It shot her a disgusting leer.

The yoma's eyes flickered to Raki and Naruto. "Oh? You _did_ bring another one? Too busy protecting the boy, though. Ooh! Look at _him._ Mmm, mm, _m_! Looks delish! Don't know if he's enough for us though."

There was one that was beyond pissed at the statement.

"You _dare_! I dare ya! I double dare ya!" Naruto barked over the storm, eyes gleaming silver, breath heaving. "You even _try_, I'll rend the flesh from your bones and tear out your beating heart and choke you on it! I'll-"

Even the yoma looked a little surprised at that. "What?"

"You _heard me_ you son of a bitch!" He growled low. "See if you really _do_ taste like chicken! I'll-!"

Clare wasn't even phased. However.

"Wow." The yoma blinked in awe. "That's some... serious psychiatric warfare, right there. You were trained pretty well. Right boys?"

Naruto reacted when he saw a flash of red above Clare.

Within seconds, veins crawled across his right arm, right pectoral muscle, and stretched across his back and neck as he whipped the blade with all his might. Even as his main protector hopped out of the way of the yoma that was skydiving...

He whipped his sword, upward, not even thinking about if he missed.

He was shocked speechless when a winged yoma slammed into the ground, gravity and inertia shattering the creature's bones like toothpicks, sending the blade deeper into the side of the ribcage.

The lifeless body laying there locked Naruto in his throwing position, shocked at having actually predicted the creature's flight accurately, and then _hitting it_.

"Holy _crap__._" Raki whispered. "How did you hit that thing? With _that_ heavy a sword to boot?"

The blonde's mouth was dry, as suddenly all the other yoma, the three in total, switched their focus from the Claymore in between them, to the one who just drew first blood.

Clare yelled something, he didn't know what.

But he felt his hackles rise.

Grabbing Raki by the center of his chest with his right arm, he drew him inward to his chest, hugged him tight, and spun to the side. He crouched, _narrowly_ missing five finger-ribbons that penetrated the locked door they were standing next to.

Unfortunately, it brought them closer to the action. Three sets of eyes remained locked on them and Naruto shoved Raki behind him.

The blonde closed his eyes and lifted his face upwards, addressing his bosses.

God. Jesus...

Veins crawled across the entirety of his body as his limbs thickened.

They could use some help...

Gold eyes opened slowly, taking in the layout of the battlefield. Two yoma's charged, though one was sliced in twain by Clare. Her yellow slits were already taking the other two into account even if it seemed like she stopped in mid-air, blood trailing from her sword.

Naruto took a single step forward, towards the ribbon-like blades rushing him.

The pattering of their feet sounded muffled in his current state.

So slow.

Tilting his cheek to the side, he reached his hand up, and gripped the ribbon mid-air on its way to run him and especially, _Raki_ through.

Naruto took care to notice that very fact. Especially when he clenched it tighter, to the point where he cut himself, to the point where he hit bone.

Then yanked it.

Wrapping the ribbon around his hand and elbow, he dragged the yoma across the dirt, eyes single mindedly staring at the creature he was reeling in.

The yoma screamed as it was pulled a foot closer, nearing its ensuing slow, and very painful death.

Naruto gripped the length of sharp ribbon with his other hand, and ripped the yoma from the ground, putting all his weight, and strength in his back, and arms.

Flashing by the yoma, he used its own ribbon, and grabbed it by the throat with said appendage, spun low, and crouched, until he was back to back with the demon. Lifting the yoma off the ground, using his back as a fulcrum, he raked the ribbon from side to side, sawing through the creature's throat.

He felt it shudder, trying its damnedest to get away. He felt it do so, until he felt the ribbon dig into the back of his own neck, and the weight of the beast fall and roll down his back.

Standing up slowly, he tossed the ribbon to the side, veins pumping angrily.

The other yoma that was on its way to Raki, paused long enough for Clare to run him through with the blade, spin around with him still attached, and then ripped it out from his side, sending the corpse rolling into the wall.

The blonde turned his head towards the other yoma that tried to kill him and Raki earlier.

He never noticed his body shape-shifted once more, forming spikes at the end of his knuckles. But the second he took a step towards the beast, Clare already flashed right next to it. Whipping her blade through the air, she sliced it through at an angle, from shoulder to bottom of the ribcage, both parts flinging in different directions and spraying the house's walls in blood.

As he exhaled in relief, the knuckles melted back into his skin.

He sunk to his knees, and fell to them, suddenly feeling weak. He saw Raki saying something to him, trying to shake him.

But he couldn't hear him over his own heartbeat. Was it getting hot all of a sudden?

He fell to his hands, staring at the dirt underneath him.

He was getting angry.

Very angry. Over everything! Everything was insane! Everything _infuriating_ to the nth degree.

Yet, his eyes softened as he saw Clare, horrified by his no doubt grisly appearance. He must look so bloody.

The heat was beginning to feel good. It felt like he could just...

_Wake up_. Wake up and see the world as it truly was. His body rocked back and forth, as if he were a snake listening to a charm.

Clare's expression hardened as she flicked the blood clean from her blade, holding it at her side, and keeping her face turned downwards. He could tell she was yelling something at him, because her chest sank quickly and her lips moved quick.

...or was she saying something to Raki?

His yellow slit eyes shifted to said boy who was shaking him harder by the shoulder, tears in his brown eyes.

He still looked like that poor apprentice.

He didn't feel angry anymore. He felt concerned. Why did the boy look so scared?

He rested his clawed hand on Raki's cheek, as he smiled.

Don't worry. He said.

Or did he mouth? He couldn't hear his own voice.

They're dead. He murmured. They were _all_ dead. Everything would be just fine.

But Raki was still in tears as the boy held him, clenching his shoulder blades tight.

Why? What was wrong?

Turning his head to Clare, he saw her ready her blade.

He lifted his neck, in defiant inquiry or in instinctual presentation, he didn't know.

But she hesitated when she stared into his gold eyes.

**Come back!**

He inhaled sharply, as his pupils contracted to mere pin-points and his eyes widened.

A massive pillar of power shot from him, knocking Raki off his feet, and staggering Clare under the full seismic wave of his youki. Silver and brown eyes shifted from the ground they were stabilizing on, to the one who just emitted the energy.

The blonde-creature rose to his full height.

Then turned his hands over, palm up.

Still human.

Why had he expected something different? He didn't hear his heartbeat rapidly beating in his chest anymore.

"Phew! That was _intense_!" Naruto chuckled as he scratched the back of his head, though he was thinking clearer than he did a few seconds ago. He seemed back to normal. Turning towards the boy, he asked. "You okay Raki?"

"Are _you_?!" Raki asked, tears still in his eyes.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" He ripped the sword out of the fallen yoma, whipped some of the blood off, and returned it to his sheathe. "Just felt kinda weird, but other than that..."

He felt Clare grab him by the shoulder, and dragging them out of the town's direction.

"My work is done! Someone will be sent to collect the money, you will give it to him then." Clare barked over the sandstorm, though kept her head ducked.

She continued dragging Naruto out, as Raki following behind.

When they reached the outskirts, Clare swung Naruto around to face her.

Smack!

His head rocked to the side, as he walked with the powerful blow, almost buckling.

Doleful blue eyes stared back at his assailant, and Raki was also surprised by this turn of events. Clare walked towards him and stuck a finger in Naruto's face. "I asked you to tell me everything!"

"What?" He asked, rubbing his cheek, feeling the heat and shame radiate from it. "What's the problem?"

"You were mere _seconds_ from awakening!" Clare barked at him, eyes set in fiery fury. "Did you want to get Raki killed? Did you want to _eat _the rest of the town? Did you _want_ to die?" They weren't questions, so much as verbal daggers.

Naruto looked down, crossing his arms over his stomach, and completely avoiding eye-contact. "I-I-." He swallowed hard. "I knew that my eyes turned colors, and I'm not sure, b-but I th-think I had veins come up before, bu-but when I was really y-young. Th-the rest, I never felt before. Ever, I p-promise. I don't und-."

From what he could tell in Clare's shadow, she relaxed her stance a little. "Why did you lie?"

His hands wrung together as he rocked back and forth on his feet lightly. "Isabelle told me that there were no males in your organization. I th-thought you'd have t-to k-kill me."

She exhaled, unsure of what to say. "There _are_ standing orders on any male with any of our flesh, or the flesh of yoma. That is the single stipulation." Naruto tilted his eyes up to look at her. "Descendants aren't killed, as they can't fully be verified as such."

Clare rubbed at her eyes with her thumb and middle finger, before pinching the two on the bridge of her nose. "Naruto, you are either the descendant of one of my people, with another human, or the legacy of _two_ of my kind. The power you were emitting." She shook her head as her voice slowly, evened out. "I would lean towards the descendant of two warriors, which would make you half-breed by blood."

"Wow!" Raki whispered. "He's a Claymore too?" He stared at Naruto, and finally noticed his solemn expression, and didn't fully understand. Shouldn't Naruto be excited? Especially at being powerful?

"But that begs the question, _why_ do you have blue eyes instead of silver ones?" Her eyes met his, flat expression now returning to her. "The power you expelled, may be the result of having a high level warrior as a parent, hence why your other traits are so strong."

"Are you going to kill me?" He asked, voice barely audible over a whisper.

He could almost feel her eyes burn through his fleshly body, just to feel his aura. He felt naked under her stare, her apathetic expression, and stiff body language directed at him.

"No. Orders are only on those who have alternate flesh sewn into them, and I didn't see any on your stomach earlier."

Oh. _That's_ what she was looking for earlier then, not to check him out.

"Even though I felt your youki earlier while you were beating the yoma. I didn't understand fully understand it then, though I do now."

He exhaled in relief. Now, he just had to keep his back a secret.

"From this point on." She continued. "You will stay out of the fight between me and others, and focus _only_ on defending yourself and Raki. You do _not_ under _any_ circumstances use a single drop of youki. You and Raki stay _outside_ of where I'm performing jobs, or, at a minimum, a hotel in town."

Her utter seriousness scared Naruto. "And if we run into another of my kind, you do not under _any_ circumstance flare or suppress your youki. They will notice a rank amateur in doing so, and they will not hesitate to kill you, and explain it to their handler later. Some of my kind can be fooled by a yoma's scent, hence, why I couldn't tell you were one of my kind, right away."

She exhaled a measured breath. "Naruto, if you don't do what I tell you, if you don't keep your ability to manipulate energy, _quiet_, my people will obliterate you. If you do not use it, they can't touch you, since you fall under a 'human' category under our law. Remember, the moment you show the capacity of utilizing youki, you are immediately slated for execution."

Even Raki looked scared.

But she didn't stop. "Worse, if you use your youki, you might repeat today's events. This time being incapable from preventing your awakening."

Naruto swallowed nervously. "How do I tell if I'm using youki?"

"You don't know?" She asked. "You don't feel it?"

He shook his head in the negative.

"Do you feel any change in your body when your eyes change?"

He shook his head once more.

"When do you feel it?"

"I don't." He replied.

She turned to Raki. "When did you notice him changing?"

The boy looked up in thought. "Umm. Probably when those three yoma looked like they were going to attack us. Naruto got bigger, grew veins, and stuff."

"What were you feeling at that moment?"

He paused after every word, trying to go through all that he felt at that moment. "Cloudy." He shot his head up. "Faster."

"You can't feel your veins burning? Or does your skin feel like it's about to burst? Then offset by pleasure?"

"No." Nothing like that.

Clare started pacing.

That was absolutely, no good whatsoever. There was no way to measure how much energy he was outputting? No idea how to control himself, or when he was losing control? He could only tell from the outside what was going on within him?

Suddenly, she was struck with an idea. "Raki!"

"Yes Clare?" He jumped up when addressed.

"Whenever Naruto's eyes turn yellow. Let him know _immediately._ Likewise, if he sprouts veins on his face, or his body alters in any way. Have him stop what he's doing and bring himself back at all cost."

The boy nodded once.

"What do I do to bring myself back?"

Clare's blonde brows knitted together in thought. "Focus on something, anything _except_ these things: needing more power, the negatives in your past, and passions, such as anger, fear or sorrow."

"Sounds difficult."

"It is. It is why we're trained and why you _mustn't_ under any circumstances, use your youki whatsoever. It's dangerous for females, but near certain death for males, most likely because you can't measure your limits."

Naruto's head ducked in thought.

It sounded difficult, but he could do it. If he could act circles around others, he could pretend he wasn't angry, or afraid. He could pretend not to be dominated by his past, or not being strong enough.

"Okay, Clare. Thanks-." His head shot up, as he stared off in the direction of the sand, sensing something coming. Something not entirely human.

"You can sense him?" Clare asked, somewhat intrigued that he could sense her handler, even if he was close.

"Yeah."

"And that's how you knew the chief was a yoma and sensed the flier above me?"

Blue eyes shifted to her. "All of that."

She sighed. "I was not angry at you, but myself. Your death, Raki's death, and those of the town-folk, would have laid upon my head. I apologize."

Naruto nodded once, in understanding.

"Stay here. Don't get emotional and don't talk about the past." She stepped deeper into the shifting sand without another word, flurries cloaking her presence.

* * *

Naruto drifted off to sleep, because for some reason he was exhausted. While it unnerved him since it was the second day in a row that he was tired, he at least found comfort in knowing they had another mission, this time to a city called Rabona.

He never saw a city before, but it sounded like an interesting place.

Within minutes, he found himself standing on ashen ground, burned charcoal resting in spots, while some places cracked in a fiery orange. The land itself, had slight dimples on the surface, though, the overall altitude never rose more than a foot.

But when he lifted his head, he could almost feel his heart stop.

Over the course of tens of miles, there was a veritable _ocean_ of yoma, some bigger and stranger looking than others, all facing in the same direction that he, himself was.

Then tens of thousands of golden eyes turned to look at the new arrival.

He almost left a brick in his pants.

"_Help_!" He screamed as their claws extended.

Closing his eyes, he crouched low, guarding his head with his hands.

Almost immediately, his..._environment_ felt different. Creaking an eye open, he almost had to close it again from the blaring white glow. When his eyes finally adjusted, he opened both his silver eyes a sliver, and checked his surroundings.

There was a red carpet underneath his feet... _silk_. Shifting his gaze to the right, it led off to white marble tiles, going for hundreds of feet to the right until it hit a hewn limestone wall. His mouth gaped open, as the wall itself climbed to a massive cathedral ceiling, higher than he had ever seen any one building go.

He found himself walking forward slowly, even as his eyes devoured the world around him. The one thing odd, is that the rest of the room was absolutely bare. No windows, plants, or people that he would expect to see in a mansion of this caliber.

Almost tripping over the three stairs in front of him, he reacquired his balance, and continued walking, feet gently tapping against the carpet and making only a slightly muffled sound.

Finally, he set his eyes forward, and saw a plush seat and someone sitting in it.

As he got closer, he saw the person in the chair a little better. They were leaning on their left hip, elbow propping up against the arm rest, and holding their head up on the left side of their cranium. Their right arm was at a diagonal angle, at the same height as their shoulder and resting on the handle of a gigantic sword, like it was their scepter. The tip of said blade, stuck into the tile floor next to the chair.

Their face was covered in shadow, though, by the person's shape, he could tell the chair's occupant was female.

It was odd, that her hair was split right down the center of her forehead. One side, was near a pure white, though it held a tint of yellow. The other side of her hair, was a rich crimson.

"What are you doing here?" The feminine voice called out, not moving a muscle, yet almost annoyed by his presence.

Naruto shoved a thumb behind him, as he shot a glance over his shoulder. "I don't know how I got here, but there were a ton of yoma where I was before that. Thanks for helping me."

"I _didn't_ help you. Someone else must have." The woman mumbled in her hand. "Do you know where you are?"

"No..." Naruto edged hesitantly.

There was a beleaguered sigh. "Naturally. It's time for you to wake up."

"Who are you?" The blonde boy asked.

"Hmhmhm." She seemed amused. "You don't know that either?" She stood up to her full height of six feet, stretching lightly. "Ahh. It's been too long."

She was a Claymore, as evident by the armor she was wearing. It was almost identical to Clare's.

Though, her left side had a couple tears in the fabric, and had a little bit of grime on it, versus her right side, which was spotless and fabric still perfectly intact.

Her straight, flat hair stretched down to her calves, longer than he first thought. Her body type was only a little more athletic than Isabelle's mom, Arabella. She lowered her head, and scratched at the hair as it flowed in front of her. Groaning in pleasure, she stopped after a moment, and then took a step in his direction.

"Who are you?"

She hummed lightly. "Should I call myself, one of the nine gifts to the organization?" She took another step towards Naruto. Or should I call myself one of the strongest of my time?"

The boy swallowed nervously as she got closer, reaching for a sword that wasn't there.

"Perhaps... that's not good enough for you?"

"What's your name?"

"Oh?" She stopped in her tracks. "My name? You wish to know my name?"

"Yes."

She smiled as she walked closer.

The blonde was uncomfortable, with how she kept her face in shadows. "My name is-."

She was mere feet away. "No. Not my name."

Lifting her face, and spilling light against it, he almost gasped.

Her right eye was a perfect cerulean blue. Her left, was a cold silver.

"You can call me..."

She parted her lips with a slight, lopsided smile.

"Red."

* * *

AN:

Alright, so Naruto gave the Claymore's a new nickname, if only not to insult his race. T;P

Also, switched around some of the timeline of when crappened. I assume the handlers can kind of see auras, like Naruto does, almost. Claymore on the other hand, can probably feel in a 360 field, but it's like feeling the temperature of someone at a distance.

Also, I know Alicia, and Beth were taken away as infants, but this is a fanfiction...so...yeah, I'm _totally_ screwing with canon. That might even happen frequently. Tehe.

Hope you liked it. Let me know if there's anything I should be looking out for, or whatever. I forgot to, but thanks again to ChrisFragger for helping me with this and the last chapter.

In any case, dear reader, take care, God bless, and praise Jesus.


	5. Chapter 5

Pretend Chapter 5

AN:

Hope you like it. Take care, God bless, and Praise Jesus! All it takes to begin a relationship with God, is acknowledging Jesus Christ as your Lord, and believing in your heart that he's resurrected. Simple and saving. :D

A very special thanks to ChrisFragger for the help with this chapter, ruthlessly putting down any errors, and slicing them through like Teresa and yoma.

Also, if you want to read a great straight Naruto fic, check out .Boku's "To Shatter", it's _amazing_. Not biased either, it is truly pro quality. Great buildup, unforgettable twists, and awesome character interactions.

Posted: 5/12/2013

* * *

"R-Red?" He murmured, unsure of why she called herself that.

Her pale pink lips widened in a cocky grin. "I couldn't have done much better."

The blonde looked around, unfamiliar with the bright scenery. "So where is this again?" He asked, seemingly to nothing.

"Mindscape." Naruto snapped around to see Red staring at him. "That is where you're in." She held her arms out at the side in a demonstrative nature. _"_The..._untouched_ portion, at least."

His eyes narrowed. "So...why do I keep coming here?"

"You unlocked me, somehow. You allowed me to have access to a greater portion of the mindscape, and I don't yet understand how, why, or even when." She smirked as an unseen breeze shifted her long bi-color hair. "Remember all the yoma?"

He nodded.

"Good. Because I will demonstrate to you techniques and expect you to copy them flawlessly upon them, at which point you _will_ integrate them."

"You mean like _eat_ them?" He asked, not feeling comfortable with that.

"Yes. But in your mindscape. These will form a subconscious, but one you can control for betterment or for detriment, but the choice is yours."

"Why are you helping me out?"

Red exhaled through her small nose. "You and I both have an enemy that you must integrate with. I believe you met her. Likes to get on your nerves?"

"Vuripes." He hissed.

She nodded. "Yes. The awakened flesh is trying to enforce its dominance over you, and frankly, you need to be in control."

His eyes burned with a malevolent fire. "What should I do?"

Red walked the carpet, headed towards the throne. "Learn from me. Consume the yoma that I bring here, and it will eliminate fractures that consuming them inevitably brings. Then eat the rest of the yoma you saw in the fields."

His eyes widened. "The ones over-over..." He couldn't even describe how massive the fields looked. "_Miles_ long! Are you crazy?!"

She slid her silver eye towards the corner of her eyelid. "No. I'm the only sane one here evidently. Until you consume every single yoma and awakened being in that area, _they_ will be under _her_ control. If they are under her control, she can consume them for power."

Red, brushed a blonde hair over her shoulder. "The yoma that you consumed thus far, she immediately scarfed up and added to her power." She sighed. "It took a while, years in fact, but I set up a barrier so she's disconnected from the yoma you saw in the fields. Those that she had previously consumed physically, but not mentally. Those are yours for the taking, and I will make it easy for you to gain skill, and power from them. If you don't consume them, you might as well mark yourself out as screwed." Exhaling, she added. "Even if you do, there's no guarantee."

"What?" His eyes widened.

"That's how powerful she is." Red said dismissively. "If you don't consume every yoma that you saw in the fields, you have absolutely no chance against her. At least, if you do what I say, you have a bit of a chance."

"H-how powerful is she?"

Red sat in her throne and relaxed. "Insanely. She will be the toughest creature you will ever hope to devour. At least, that _I_ ran into. Who knows what monsters have been birthed over the years."

The claymore removed her sword from her sheathe, and laid it across her lap, stroking it like a pet. "You did something that was both stupid and effective. You made a sword using your own flesh as an ingredient."

She smirked. "The good news, is it weakened her grip over your mindscape, _significantly. _The bad news, is it put your limits at a brick wall until you consume your sword, and eventually, the rest of the blood the blacksmith master has. One suggestion." She lifted a single digit, attracting his attention towards it. "Don't eat either of your extensions, until you defeat her, otherwise you will return her power."

Resting her arms on the blade surface, a serious scowl taking its rightful place on her face. "I don't expect you to succeed all the time, as the temptation can be too great, admittedly. But do not eat yoma, and avoid even being in the presence of awakened beings at all costs. If you eat them, she will consume their mental aspects and become even more powerful."

She shrugged, then continued stroking her sword with a finger. "But until you integrate her, your powers of shape shifting will be limited to when you break your fifty percent barrier. When you integrate her, shapeshifting will return to its normal ease, where you won't find it necessary to break out any youki energy. Not that it would be useful for a while..." The last phrase she murmured.

"What do you mean by that?" It was an odd statement.

Red grinned, rested her elbows on the sword, and lay her chin on her clasped hands. "Why, do you know what you can do as a shape shifter?"

"No." Not much.

"You can compress your body mass." She stated as if it was the key to everything.

"So..." He lead on.

"So." She returned sharply, annoyed at his ignorance. "It means that you can compress all the mass that you consume as finely as you can control it." When she saw his expression, she sighed, ducked her head and closed her eyes. "To put it in, layman's or, terms that even you might understand," she added snidely, "You can say, transform a hundred yoma, into an inch cube that is about a quarter strong as a half-breed warrior's blade. Or an angel's blade, as you know them by." She smirked and leaned back in her throne. "Cute, by the way. I would have liked that moniker."

Naruto's eyes were wide. An inch cube after a hundred yoma? Only a quarter strong as it should be?

"Looking at the hurdle finally?" Her fingers held the left side of her cheek. "Awakened beings provide more nutrition for growing boys like you, but unfortunately, those are few and far between. Worse, you'd have to consume the entire continent of yoma, and awakened beings just to get a shield that would guard your front, not even your _back."_ She leaned forward. "You are, and will always be far from invincible. At least in this form."

"What happens if I awaken? I'm different from other warriors if I can eat yoma, right?"

"Yes, but it wouldn't be _you_ in control, it would be the awakened creature within you. That's why you must consume it to control it. At bare minimum, over _half_ of it."

He inhaled, then exhaled slowly, feeling tension drift from him. "Where do I start?"

She leaned forward, thoughtful pose in place. "I was thinking about what to do, and what to teach. Personally, I was an offensive type warrior, yet you hold aspects of both offensive and defensive." Her hands clasped together. "Their strengths, though not to their fullest potential, and not as many weaknesses, provided you can control yourself. But there is a problem."

Naruto perked up.

Red continued. "Unlike us, if your yoma flesh is touched or injured, you become _massively_ crippled for however long it takes to heal it. You can still use youki, just not nearly as effectively. In a sense, that is your additional weak spot, in addendum to your head and heart. Until you awaken of course."

"I thought you said that-."

"I said, if you were _listening,"_ she bit, "that if you don't devour the awakened Vuripes, _then,_ if you awaken you will be controlled by her. That, by extension, means the opposite is true. _If_ you consume her, you will be in control of your body even _after_ awakening."

"You mean..."

She interrupted, and halted him with an extended palm. "You can eventually awaken without any negative side effects, _or_ loss of control. Something _huge _amongst our kind." Her expression flashed to seriousness. "If the organization even knew it was possible, they would devote all resources to finding out how to find their 'scapes like this, and exploit it. The warriors would be _unstoppable."_

A grin stretched from nothing, revealing a thin line of white teeth. "But add that onto your stealth ability, your...unparalleled shapeshifting, not just for disguise as the yoma do, but for _weapons. _ ."

She chuckled. "I suggest, that if you don't want to be popular with the organization's leadership and their peculiar science division, make sure to keep your profile _low._ Otherwise you will end your endless days as an experiment."

She lifted up a finger and tilted her body to the side. "Not pleasant. To put it in common terms, don't use your shapeshifting in flashy manners. Use it for what God had intended. Stealth. Unless you want every bera they earn dedicated to finding you."

Naruto's eyes flashed to her claymore symbol as he thought about the information dump he was just punished with.

It looked like an M and a W were connected by a vertical line down the center.

"That brings me back to my question, what am I learning first?"

"What is your problem Naruto? When it comes to battle?" She asked airily.

"I'm hot-headed, angry, and weak."

She nodded lightly. "Fair assessment. You do lean more towards maximum defensive strengths, with some pretty nasty abilities from your shapeshifting. You may not surpass, say, my fellow warrior's best speed, but can potentially match their power and battle capacity."

She hedged her head to the side and added for his benefit. "Provided you learn your abilities right. Technically, there is no limit to your body's alterations and motions, so it adds even more unpredictability. But save that for another day for that theory." She ducked her chin, and lifted her pupils to the top of her eyelids. "What do you do right, when you succeed?"

"I explode." He answered immediately. He did. He just..._snapped_ whenever he attacked right.

She sighed with annoyance. "No. You're missing the point. What do you do _right?_ What _makes_ you succeed?"

His eyebrows furrowed in thought. "I know who they are?"

"Yes, that's a good part, and what else?" She nodded, hoping he'd catch on.

He didn't. "I don't know." He ducked his head.

"Bah." She waved him off angrily. "You know _who_ they are. They don't _know_ who _you_ are. Your aura shifts according to those perceiving it. You're either a weak warrior to one of my kind, or, to a yoma, you appear as a human if you're not using any youki."

His brows furrowed in thought. "So my strength is surprise?"

"_Exactly._ You have more capacity for deception than most, something most of my breed don't require. They either need durability to outlast, or strength to make others succumb." She grinned, bi-color eyes matching his gaze. "But you can brute force your body for both of these, but more importantly, for blending and execution."

He swallowed, then opened his mouth before closing it again.

"Yes?" She asked, allowing him the question.

"I can be both of them, in addition to stealth?"

"Mmm." She looked up in the corner of her eye, indecisive. "Remember, your strong suit will always be deception. That is what your body is most used to. However, strength, speed and regeneration are also potential strong suits." She scratched the sides of her mouth. "Think of it this way, if your strength is about...what type of grades did you get in school?"

"It was from F, to S. S being perfect and F for a zero."

Nodding, she stated. "Okay, here's the long explanation. There are several things that warriors are measured by." She ticked her fingers up as she went through it. "Sense, leadership, mental balance, strength, agility, speed, regeneration and youki." Leaning back in her throne, she adjusted her sword to fit tip down into the floor between her legs. "Youki is your personal power, the...energy that the yoma flesh provides, and how well you can control it. Your agility is your flexibility, and grace."

She tilted her head to the side with a grin. "Speed, determines how fast you move, and how well you can turn. Strength determines how powerful you are, as well as your endurance. Your willpower is what your intelligence level is, how well you can take stress, your confidence, how well you can force your body to fit certain tasks and how well you can control emotions."

She pointed to one of her eyes. "Your sensory perception, determines what you see, hear, touch, taste, and smell, as well as how you perceive auras. Your leadership is crucial to how well you would be the boss, boosting the morale of underlings, that kind of thing. Finally, regeneration determines how well you can take a hit, and recover."

"What is your level of expertise?" Naruto asked her.

"I'm an A rank on most of those, save a couple, at which point I'm a D. The awakened Vuripes almost hits A+ in _all_ areas, while hitting an S in strength and youki."

His jaw dropped. "How the hell can I beat that?"

She shrugged nonchalantly. "Start praying kid."

Closing his eyes, and sighing, he asked. "What do I have then?"

"Your youki energy, is nothing short of _massive._ If that were the sole determinant, you may very well be over an A." When his eyes widened, she made sure to crush his hopes. "However, while your manipulation is equally high, your control is absolutely _terrible_. You have no idea what plateaus you hit, and what levels you surpassed. I suggest getting a mirror to check yourself frequently in the heat of battle. Maybe, wear glasses with a mirror attached, something, where you can check your face and eyes."

He nodded. That was a great idea. That way, he could at least tell if his face and eyes changed.

"Your youki level, with that in mind, is a mid C." When he looked despondent, she added. "We'll take you up with that, to where you can physically manifest your youki into a burning presence."

His gaze shot upward. "Really?"

"Yes. It's a rare skill." She nodded and continued. "Your agility, really, your stealth and acrobatics, are of the highest potential. You could bring it up to a double S ranking."

His eyes were so bugged out, she thought they might fall from their sockets any second now. "Double S?"

Was that even possible?

"Yup. But right now, it's at an F level. Your flexibility sucks, your stealth is mediocre, and your locomotion, is like watching a brain dead cat, try to jump. Absolutely pitiful, chock full of pain, misery and ruined furniture."

He scowled, disappointed at himself, and the mental picture she imparted. "What else?"

"Your strength is okay, I suppose. When you augment it in the future, you might hit high A's, even after awakening."

"What is it now?"

"Meh. D, D plus."

"What about perception and sensing yoma?"

She gave a cock eyed smirk. "Finally. Something you're good at. You're at a B level. Your other senses are perfect, and visually perceiving others with a similar aura, is something virtually unheard of in our people. That alone brings you up several ranks."

"How do I get an S ranked one?"

Red chuckled at his expense. She held up a finger before continuing to laugh some more. When he glared, she finally managed to get a hold of herself. "Let's put it this way, an S rank is someone who can feel auras, like Clare does. But better still, they sense in a three hundred and sixty degree, out to a couple _miles."_

The blonde male paled when she didn't even stop mentioning their attributes."They can feel, and detect where the warmth or the cool sensation is coming from, and the general state of _emotions_ they are sensing. Moreover, they can _control_ the youki. Finely, of course, but they can alter trajectories of projectiles and limb extension attacks."

Leaning back on her throne, her eyes glazed over in awed reminiscing. "Watching them in action...is truly destructive towards one's femininity." At his confused puppy look, she added. "In your case, it would be emasculating."

He nodded. "Alright. So. B level. Finally." S would be out of his reach for a long...long..._long _time.

Red clapped her hands once and tilted her head to the other side. "Indeed!"

"What's left?" He asked, hating to hear more brow beating, but recognizing the need for it.

"Oh my, there are only four left! Isn't that a shame." Naruto sighed, feeling the butt hurt welling to his facial features. "Speed, willpower, regeneration, and leadership. Guess! Guess what's coming!" She teased him mercilessly.

"An F for leadership?"

"Right-eeo!" She gave him a thumbs up as she rocked her head to the other side. "Which means, almost no one would feel at ease seeing you stepping on the battlefield. No one on the other side would be quaking in their boots, and absolutely, positively, no one would ever even bother listening to you." She shrugged a shoulder. "Your intelligence isn't so bad, but your plans need some work done on 'em."

"Great." He said sardonically, though, not particularly caring about it. He wasn't planning on leading anyone.

"It's not so bad, I got just about the same."

"Really?" He asked shocked that such a high level warrior would admit to such a weakness.

"Nope! I got an A here, actually." She flipped him off, causing him to sigh. "Suck it!"

"Speed?" He interrupted her mocking gesture before she got too much further under his skin.

"Oo! Oo! Guess, come on guess!" She was almost bouncing on her seat with mock excitement.

"C?" He mumbled, disheartened.

"Ooh!" She threw her hands up, tilted her head to the side, and squinted her expression almost in feigned pain. "Not quite. An impotent F rank here."

"You got to be _kidding_ me!" He moved really fast in comparison to humans!

"Nope! You suck here, but have _some_ potential with your shapeshifting, which, you currently, do not have. Even a forty seven could kick your ass with minimal effort."

Missing how he 'understood' the reference of the forty-seven comment, he paused for a moment pondering over something else. "...Willpower?"

"Sensing a bad score?" He nodded, as she grinned. "Sensing _right_! Good job! A nice, flip-floppy C. You're going to have to start adjusting to the world around you and quickly if you ever want to be something greater than a nothing."

"What about how well I can step into someone else's character? You know, imitate them?"

She leaned forward slightly. "That's the only reason why you're not eating an F. Your intelligence is above average, and with consumption of other yoma, it will only increase. But in return, you may take hits to emotions, and stress. Unless of course, you consume them in your mind scape, and choose to..._eliminate_ those memories."

He exhaled, longing for this to be over. "What's left now?"

She was quiet, and tilted her head to the side, as if measuring if she should deign to answer that.

"Regeneration." He murmured, remembering the final measurement, then closed his eyes. "What. An F-rank? D?"

Smiling lightly, bi-color eyes bright as she stated. "S."

His head shot up when she said it. "What?"

She repeated herself. "You have an S rank in this area. You can regenerate entire limbs, and even if your head was cut off, it would take destruction of the brain and heart to completely kill you." She shook her head. "And that's not even when you awaken. I can't imagine what will occur when and if that happens."

"Why the hell is my regeneration that high?" That didn't even make sense!

"You can heal broken bones in seconds, and regrow completely destroyed limbs in less than a half a minute, provided you use your youki right." She shook her head, almost in amazement. "Destruction of your organs, would take only minutes to recover from, provided they aren't completely obliterated. If at some point, they ever are, you could reform them in less than a _day,_ if you eata balanced diet."

She scratched behind her ear. His eyes narrowed as he noticed the tip of it was extended, like an elf's."Not even a single yoma is needed, though, their bodies can make the processes move extremely fast, no less than double the speed for limb regeneration, and for healing organs, it would be taken down to less than two minutes_._"

He swallowed hard, in complete and utter shock.

"The good news is, you don't have to fear yoma as much, and can even learn off of them."

"What's the bad news?"

An insane grin stretched across her face, her eyes mere slits. "I'm the one who's going to be teaching you the ropes. Frankly, I wish I had such potential when I were a fledgeling. So I intend to beat the jealousy out of me, by beating the hell out of you."

Challenging silver replaced the blue in his own eyes. "Heh. Maybe it'll be the other way around."

She said truthfully, and with a tone that screamed 'unamused'. "Doubt it. Now remember." She lifted up a finger once more, and acquired a professor's tone. "Even here, if you awaken your body, you will awaken on the other side. So we'll be sure to practice in..._secluded_ areas, not in a major metropolis."

He closed his eyes, and waved her off. "Yeah, yeah. Anything else I should know?"

* * *

"Wh-?" Blue eyes snapped open, staring at the dark black sky. Naruto sat up and was surprised to note Raki was still deep asleep, occasionally swatting at an itch.

Moreover, they were still deep in the forest, still in a small clearing, Raki under a the tree's distended humus at its base, and Clare resting on her massive blade by the embers.

Clare's metallic eyes stared at Naruto, causing him to retract nervously.

He shook his head to reacquaint himself with the environment, and the people around him.

"Should we go, Re-Clare?" He asked, unable to maintain eye contact, almost jumbling her name with the woman in his head. His blue eyes drifted to a couple new packages he knew she didn't have before he fell asleep. A statue, and the other looked like a water cask.

She nodded once to acknowledge his attention, drawing said gaze away from the new additions.

He immediately grabbed a hold of Raki, and placed him over his right shoulder. With his other hand he grabbed their travel bag. Adjusting the two in his grip, he wondered aloud. "How long until we get to Rabona?"

"Before noon."

He smiled lightly, before shifting Raki on his shoulder, so that the boy wouldn't bounce around as much. "Not bad timing."

They started their trek, leaving the forest and returning to the gravel path.

Not even a minute into their journey, he tried for small talk. "How many dead this time?"

"Three."

"In how long?" Did it take the people a month to figure out they had a problem? Why didn't they call right-.

"A week."

"Wow." He whispered. "So does that mean that there's a group like the last one?"

"Not necessarily. Some yoma are hungrier than others. Others, you might know as a voracious eater."

His eyes narrowed in thought. "Are those basically awakened things?"

"Yes." She answered honestly.

He turned his head, almost worriedly. "Are they stronger than yoma?"

"Much."

He frowned, Raki's weight reminding him of what was at stake if he had turned into a...voracious eater. "I'm sorry. I didn't know what was happening."

"Don't do it again." It was nowhere near the sharp tone she had earlier, even though the guilt still gnawed at him.

"What would have happened if I would have awakened?"

"I would have decapitated you, crushed your skull, and destroyed your heart." She said it flatly, as emotionless as a chunk of metal. "That would have been the only way to make sure."

"Oh." Naruto wasn't sure how to react, though, he did feel a little relieved, awkward and more than a little nervous. "Then you had it...eh, covered." Silver eyes turned to the precipice of her eyelid to stare at him, then refocused up front. "How would I have changed though?"

"An insatiable hunger for human guts, a reformed composition of your body and a complete loss of your humanity." She talked about it like he was asking about the weather.

"Du-..." He wasn't sure how to word it. He settled on, "Does it happen to you guys too?"

"Yes. The more yoma power we use, the more human aspects we lose, until, we fail to control ourselves."

Metallic blues shifted to her, wider than usual.

Horrifying.

"What happens before that?" Any last 'screw you' to their yoma side?

"We have one final battle as a human against the demon inside us. This battle is won by calling in another warrior. When they arrive, they execute us, hopefully before we turn."

Naruto stared at the ground intently, as if he were asking it the question. "How do you get in contact with another?"

"In the handles of our swords, there is a black card. This card, holds the symbol that is around our neck."

How could she be so calm about her eventual demise?

"So that pitch-fork looking thing is your...uh, signature of who you are?"

"Correct."

It seemed as if she had nothing left to say, or nothing else she wanted to say for that matter, so he kept quiet. Even well after the hours passed, and Raki woke up, the general mood was silent. Upon his rising, Clare handed the boy the wrapped up statue he saw earlier, then she changed her clothes into something different, while they stopped, ate and regrouped.

When they were yet, five miles away from Rabona, Naruto gasped in utter shock.

The entire city sprawled out for miles. The walls themselves were over fifty feet in height, and were completely layered in mortar to prevent intruders from climbing them. The gates were made of thick, rusty iron, no less than three inches in diameter.

The buildings...the buildings inside the city proper, were the highest structures he had ever seen his entire life! Some were even _larger_ than ten stories high!

Raki chattered excitedly when he saw the city as well, and the two discussed what they would check out while they were there. Raki planned on checking out the holy districts, of which Rabona was famous for. Naruto had other plans, one of which was to surprise his newfound friend, so he avoided any direct answer.

When they finally arrived within a mile of the front gate, Clare popped a spherical pill, and lifted up her hood to hide her facial features. When Raki asked what it was for, she answered it was to hide a change of her physical appearance.

At their arrival, there were over five guards on the outside, with two guards behind said five, and standing directly in front of the metal bars leading into the city.

Each soldier was plated in the highest quality armor Naruto had ever seen. Solid steel plating, over three sixteenths of an inch thick in some places, and well polished. So much so, that it was like looking into a mirror. The soldiers had a massive blade, four feet in length, as they rested almost the entirety of their weight against it, burying the tip in the gravel path they were plodding down.

Blue and brown eyes watched them with wonderment, even as Clare led them along.

A soldier extended a hand to stop them from moving any further. Naruto's eyes lit up. Hourglass gauntlets? Those were-.

"Show me your faces." The baritone man demanded, armor clinking when he asked for their cooperation.

All three dropped their hoods, and stood in a line. As the soldier paced, checking their body type, eye color and hair color, he stopped on Naruto. "You!"

Naruto's flinched as his eyes shifted up, and met the man's beady black's through the narrow great helm. "Yes?"

"Never mind." The soldier shook his head, maladjusted helmet flopping back and forth. "Never mind, I thought your eyes were silver. What is your purpose?"

Clare spoke up. "We finished our pilgrimage and wish to become baptized in the ways of the lord of Rabona."

The blonde shifted his gaze towards Clare. "Well. They are. I'm here ta' look for a job."

"Not the holy type boy?" The soldier changed focus from Raki to Naruto.

"Not a believer in the Rabona guy." The blonde teen replied.

"Ah. One of the other heathens."

Naruto rolled his eyes. _His_ God answered prayers, not some carved block of useless.

"What kind of job are you looking for, boy?"

Yawning, the male claymore scratched the back of his head, and answered. "Well, blacksmithin' or a bodyguard or somethin'."

"You don't look strong enough for either." The soldier stated, helmet muffling his voice.

"Yeah. Well. I'll outwork 'em." He said with a shrug.

"Are you all related?"

"Yes." Clare spoke simply and demurely, almost completely out of her character as a serious person.

The soldier nodded. "One final test. Make a small cut on your finger, then squeeze to show me a drop of blood."

"What for, if I may ask." Naruto was already on his way to his sheathe, causing the other guards to flinch. Until he made a small incision on his finger and presented it to them.

"A simple precaution against yoma." The soldier stated as he leaned forward to get a better look.

The other two of the party followed suit and were allowed entrance upon seeing the vibrant red drips.

"Where is the cheapest motel in Rabona?" Clare asked, even adding a small blush as the question escaped her lips.

"It's on main-street. You can't miss it."

Naruto sighed despairingly. "You haven't seen us try and read a map. We got lost on their pilgrimage... Ugh, it was miserable."

One of the guard's snorted, then added. "It's called, Santa Teresa."

It caught the guard's eye when Clare twitched lightly at the name, though, they were let in anyway.

They walked in without further incident, and made their way to the main street.

The older teen couldn't help but admire how nice the pavement was, and how orderly the city appeared.

"Wow...You guys, were _good."_ Raki whispered in admiration, eyes shifting between his two companions. "Clare, you had a complete change in character, and Naruto, I thought you were someone else!"

Clare's characteristic tone returned as she explained. "I've had training. Covert operations are part of the job." Raki watched her with bated breath, and Naruto simply listened, checking the surrounding people's auras. "We've learned to carry ourselves so that should the need arise, we can blush like an aristocrat, or smile like a prostitute."

"P_-prostitute?"_ Raki repeated, a deep blush tinging his cheeks a light red.

She mercilessly teased him, as imperceptible it may have been. "You seem interested. Should I show you how?"

"No! No! That's okay!"

Naruto broke up into hysteric laughter.

"What's so funny?!" Raki demanded, slightly offended.

Pretending he wasn't giggling at the boy's innocence, he dove into a small explanation. "Smiling like a prostitute isn't that hard. You just smile with a certain air. Here...lemme try." Naruto closed his eyes, squeezing them shut to imagine what he had to do. Then, his smile shifted into a slant, canine slightly visible as his eyes opened slowly, and only about a crack. He then added a brush of his hair and a tilt to his head, causing Raki to miss a step as the world seemed to pause around the blonde.

"Wow. That was so sad."

Naruto's expression shifted to the offense. "Hey man, that was _perfect._ If you weren't totally blind, you'd see that."

"Sad." Raki repeated.

"Come on man, Arabella did it all the time and she was the bath house matron! It was _perfect!"_

"Sad!" Raki jeered.

"Perfect ya' basti'd!" He snapped Raki in a noogie, just as they arrived at a gigantic church. "Whoa..." He stopped mid knuckle rub. "That's big."

The church proper was over three stories tall, the towers, over _nine_.

"Alright. Come on-."

"Hey," Naruto interrupted Clare. "Mind if I go check out the rest of the town? I mean, Raki's safe with you, right?"

She measured the thought for a moment, before she allowed his freedom with a head nod.

"Thanks!"

And like a bullet, he was off, head bobbing in from market place to market place. His eyes snapped from embroidered curtains, to colored cloth stalls. His eyes kept wandering, searching and devouring not only the architectural structure, making plans on potential routes of escape, but also choke points, and market placement.

But still, his main objective wasn't fulfilled.

While they were traveling earlier and the silence set in, he was struck by an idea that may help the overall ability of the group. He had his sword, and Clare had hers. But Raki didn't even have so much as a sling to defend himself. Something, he aimed to correct while he was here.

Finally, he found his purchase.

The bowyer's section, as evident by a longbow, crossed by a crossbow on the signage outside the shop.

As he entered the shop, the scent of all forms of wood and steel, filled his nostrils. His eyes trailed from left to right, picking up a variety of sizes, thicknesses, and materials, such as brass, whiteish toned yew, orange osage, and burnished hickory. His expression changed immediately the moment he crossed the threshold, from someone with a purpose, to a shy boy that was nervous and mousy.

"Oi! What can I do ya' for?" A man asked from behind a desk. Said man, had a tight beard, no longer than a quarter of an inch, but cut into a ducktail style. Brown haired dusted with gray, steely eyed, slim, and tall.

Though, it looked like the poor man was struggling to get around the table.

"Ta' be honest, sir, I don't know much about the craft." Naruto responded honestly, while waiting for the man to leave his section.

"Ah, I see thar'. Soh, what brings ya here, ma' boy?"

"Crossbows." The blonde blinked slowly as they shifted across the shop. "One of my friends hunted with them when he was younger, and I'd like to surprise him with the best I can get."

"Well, good choice for a beginner and all, but gotta wonder, do ya' think he'd be more interested in the longbow than the crossbow?"

"See, that's the thing." Naruto began, hands clasped together at his waist to prevent excess motion. He avoided eye contact purposefully. "The longbow, I know has faster follow up, but I don't know if he'd be skilled enough for that. Plus, sometimes..."

Scratching the back of his head, he explained. "Sometimes, mercs' try ta' take us over, an' see, I don't take kindly to that. I need something that'll be strong enough to punch through their hide, I mean, their armor." He corrected himself mid sentence.

"Hide, 'ey? Pains in the arse mercs." The bowyer nodded knowingly, causing Naruto to blush with embarrassment. "'Fraid a' the _yoh'ma_ 'round town are yeh?"

"Yeah. Kinda."

"Crossbows are illegal agains' Rabona Acolytes, ya know that though? Even if they attack."

"Yeah. Is it illegal against game?"

"Noh' as far as I 'eard."

"Good." His eyes looked up to the older gentleman. "Do you have anything like that?"

The man grinned, as he walked with a limp towards a rack. "Goh' an 'ole section to it. 'Ow old's the friend?"

"Few years younger than me. Smaller by about, eight or so inches." His eyes lit up. "Oh yeah, has trouble holding this." Naruto whipped out his sword, as the other man's eyebrow rose with surprise.

"Yeh seem ta' have no difficulty. Han' it here." The man held out a hand, waiting for the handle. And had a similar reaction to Raki. "Grab it!"

This time, Naruto was waiting for it.

"'Oly pain in the arse!" The man rubbed at his damaged leg. "Noh' as strong as I _used_ to be lad. Warn me first"

"Sorry." Naruto scrubbed behind the back of his head nervously. "It really isn't that heavy to me."

"Wouldna' been in mah' prime either, but there's been some years 'tween then an' now. A'right then, seems like we cut out qui' a few ah these crossbows." The man limped to the left edge of the crossbow stand. "Les' see 'ere. You know his lengt' a' pull?"

Naruto's eyes shot up in his skull as he visualized Raki in a categorized manner.

Height. Weight. Arm length. "'Leven an' a half."

"Pri'eh long for a boy. Thirteen ya' said?"

"Yeah, around that."

"You'll want somethin' he can grow into, as well." The man's finger brushed against three crossbows in particular. "Thirteen inch 'd be a mite uncomfortable for 'im now, but when he get's older, he'll be 'preciative. Just make sure he uses proper form, even if it hurts. 'E should know wha' it is, jus' tell 'im what I told ya."

"Got it." Naruto's eyes hungrily devoured the three crossbows the man was showing him.

"These are all hardened steel, recurve style instead of flat arms, gives a little more punch."

The blonde grabbed one off the shelf.

"Cock it, jus' don't fire it without a bolt. Otherwise you'll be payin' for a broken weapon, an' a repair of the limbs."

When Naruto grabbed it by the string, and the metal foot loop by the hands, the man added. "Even you aren't strong enough for that. Tha's over four hundred pounds of pressure."

To prove him wrong, Naruto stretched the string, then cocked it with minimal effort.

His brows rose. "I stan' corrected. You're pretty strong, but the boy you're buyin' it for doesn't 'ave your strength though, does he?"

"That's right, sir."

"Then get somethin' that he can cock, but somethin' he 'as to get stronger to use repeatedly, somewhere around two-fifty ta' three." The salesman grabbed the other cocked crossbow from Naruto, and switched with the other that had been on the shelf.

"Sold with, are the cocking mechanisms. He won't need a crannequin, but he will need a claw an' a decen' belt." The salesman tapped his own belt, and showed him a three pronged, metal claw on the side of it. "Steps in the loop." The man demonstrated by putting a foot into a metal, square area just under where the tip of the bolt exited. "Crouches. Can't demonstra' that boy."

This time he didn't move, but he wiggled a steel claw on his belt. "Hooks this metal thing to the string, then stands up an' locks it inta' this metal here." He pointed towards where the trigger mechanism was located. "That locks it in place, until the trigger is depressed."

He was sold on the crossbow immediately. "Do you sell bolts?"

"Absolutely. But the tips I sell don't offer much penetration. Tha's the problem with yoma, they're more durable than most."

"_You beat here for more penetration. Blunter, for more damage."_

His light blue eyes stopped fluttering from his mental flashback, in a life that he never personally experienced. "That's fine. Where's the blacksmith shop?"

"'Cross the street, lad."

"How much?"

The man scratched behind his head, almost ashamed about the prices he set. "Forty sticks for this an' fifteen bolts."

Naruto whipped out his money sack, and dropped it into his hands. "Done."

* * *

The blonde wandered the streets for a little while, a bag of bolt tips in his right hand, and the crossbow swung around his left shoulder. He was panicked, for a bit, not remembering where they were supposed to go, until he recalled that they asked for the cheapest place.

Orienting himself down main-street, he headed towards the Santa Teresa inn, and used his fist to open the door.

"Hey kid. Need a place to drop for the night?" The older gentleman behind the desk proffered a warm, welcoming, money-hungry grin. "We're the cheapest in _town." _He promptly scratched his thick mustache, then combed the small patch of hair on the top of his head, rearward to touch the back of his crown. "We're fully stocked with amenities, toilet, bath, free food, and beds."

Ignoring the sales pitch, he asked. "Did a brown haired kid come in with a pretty blonde sister?"

"A lot of them come to this hotel, son, so while you're in luck, you're going to have to be more specific." Naruto almost rolled his eyes at the obvious grovelling.

Did they change their names to be clandestine about it? "Clare and Raki. Did they come here yet?"

"Oh yes, of course! You're the third one then." The man was almost disappointed. "Unfortunately, we only have a double room, we're fresh out of triples. With the baptism season going on and all."

"That's fine. I slept on floors before."

"Or you can share a place with your brother. They're queen sized mattresses."

Naruto's eyebrows rose with surprise. "That big? _Nice."_

"Indeed! Now," the man leaned on his hand and asked, "did you have any antiques to sell?"

"Me?" His blonde brow furrowed with thought. He hatched up a story within a couple seconds. "No. Not really. I'm not the brains, I'm their brawn. Protection that is."

"You look pretty scrawny for that." The older man mumbled.

Naruto hid his annoyance with a chuckle, squinted eyes and a beaming smile.

Not sensing any threat to his mortality, the man was hit by a revelation. "Oh! Before I forget, there's a curfew in town, no one out past dawn. You might get killed if you decide to venture out."

"Heh. Sounds like a fun town." Then Naruto's lemon- brows furrowed. "Wait, what about the homeless?" They had one or two in Egon-.

"Oh." the clerk waved him off. "They're either exiled, executed or brought to prison. After the first couple executions, most of them just left on their own volition."

Naruto shut his eyes before they changed, already feeling his face coil with disgust. He rushed down the hallway without another word, where he could 'feel' Raki's familiar aura.

Where was Clare's? Did the pills alter her aura?

He heaved in deep breaths, trying to lower his blood pressure, and heart rate, hoping that he wouldn't obliterate these annoying beings that call themselves _humans._ What an _insult_ to the word!

He pushed down the veins that were crawling up his neck, and pounded on the door.

Gink! Gink, gink!

Even on the other side, he could hear when Raki gasped, and ran to it. "Yes? Oh! Naruto what a-."

When Naruto opened his eyes, Raki saw abnormally colored eyes staring back at him. "Raki. It's me."

Said boy turned towards the woman. "Clare? Uh, what do you want me to do?"

Her eyes shifted from facing the outside, to the newcomer. She gasped lightly, having seen the icy rage in his growing veins, and utter hatred in his gold eyes then stated firmly. "Calm down."

His teeth ground from side to side as he clenched. "Clare, I have no idea why you do what you do. Towns like this? I'd let _rot."_

Bumping past Raki, he strode inside, and dumped the crossbow and the bolt heads on the bed. "Those are yours Raki."

"What's the matter, Naruto?" Raki placed a hand on the elder teen's shoulder, having missed what he said.

"These humans." He patted the boy's hand. "They kill their _own._ Can you even _believe_ it?_"_

Clare returned to gazing out the window when his eyes normalized. "Some do. But there are the few like you and Raki."

"It isn't right." Naruto growled, canines alternatively thickening and shrinking.

"It rarely is." Was the detached response.

Raki, however, gasped, causing the blonde to look back. "W-what is this?"

Turning his head over his shoulder, he blinked when he saw what Raki was hanging over. "A crossbow. It's yours."

"Y-you said this was for me?"

"Yeah..." Naruto turned around just to say it sarcastically. "You know how to use it?"

"Absolutely! This is _amazing!_ This is better than what we had." The boy excitedly ripped the crossbow off the bed, and shouldered it. "I could probably cut it back a little..." Raki murmured.

"What about for when you get bigger? Don't you want something you'll be able to use for a while?"

The boy nodded absentmindedly. "Th-thank you, Naruto-san."

The older teen snorted. "Thought we were over that. Wasn't it brother, now?"

Raki's grin widened.

"Oh! Before I forget, the guy wanted you to use proper form, even if it hurt right now."

The two boys never noticed the slight smile she had when she watched the two from the window's reflection.

* * *

"Finished your dinner?" The clerk they ran into earlier, asked the group.

"Of course. It was delicious." Clare sat with a small, simple smile on her face, hands clasped in her lap.

The clerk smiled as he went towards the empty dinnerware. "Glad to hear it. What happened to your brothers?"

Clare turned her head to usher his attention to the bed. "Oh, they ate so much, that they fell asleep."

Eyes traveling to the bed, he stated quietly. "Excellent. I'm so glad I gave them double portion. That blonde brother of yours looked like he was starved half to death." He grabbed the rolling table holding the empty dinnerware. "Now be sure to get plenty of rest, you must be exhausted from your journey."

The door shut behind him.

Naruto groaned in agony as he lay stretched out over the bed. "I'm never eating again._ Ever."_

Raki just grimaced.

"Sorry, I made you two eat my share."

"It's our job, Clare-san!" Raki said, fist gripped tight. "Even if it's not quite how I imagined it."

The boy almost thought he saw Clare smile.

"Speak for yourself Raki. Clare can smile like a prostitute, but not, _not_ eat like a rabbit?" He groaned all over again, as his gall bladder was no doubt pounding his gut with a variety of enzymes to digest that cursed food.

Fwip!

She flicked her purple robe off. Naruto lifted his heavy head from the bed to see what the noise came from.

Clare changed her attire into what the blonde teen imagined to be 'ninja-ware'. A solid black dress cut mid thigh, leather armor around the throat, and openings that cut diagonally from the bottom of her neck, to the bottom of her armpit.

She also had black stockings that went just above her knee, and soft leather boots. Turning the cloak inside out, revealed that it was black in color.

Clare's blank, raging badass expression crept on her face, causing the blonde to arch a brow.

Unfortunately, Raki took this time to take a drink of water.

Naruto mumbled to his 'brother'. "The organization she works for really doesn't like subtle fetishes. What do you think Raki? You think a leather corset's next?"

Raki shot water out of his nose for the first time in years.

"I'm going out." Clare added, just as she tied a cloak around her neck. "Close the windows, lock the doors, and if anyone comes to the door, pretend your asleep."

"I won't be pretending." Naruto mumbled.

"Clare! Wait!" Raki said just as she was headed out the window. She turned around in the window. "Be careful.

She looked surprised at the statement, then faced the darkness outside. "I'll be fine. Don't worry." She leapt out, then disappeared, only leaving brief tapping sounds.

Naruto stood stock still, watching the boy stare outside, completely concerned for her well being.

He grinned, appreciating the boy's other-minded spirit. "Alright Raki. I'm gonna be bathin' if you need me, that's where I'll be."

Switching the water on all the way, he added wood to the base of the tub, and lit it. He almost couldn't wait to sink in and enjoy the warmth.

Whipping off shirt, pants and the rest of his garb, he held his hand out to the fire, then the tub to test its heat. When it felt warm, he rested his feet in, before laying down, back to the door.

The back of his head hit the metal tub with a heavy thunk.

Well. It wouldn't be long before he had to get out again.

He leaned forward to clean his feet better, when the bathroom door opened.

Raki began, "Hey, I figured you needed a tow-."

He heard a rolled up cloth hit the ground.

"Thanks." What the hell was taking so long. "Can I have it now?"

"W-w-w-wha-what's o-on y-your b-back?" Raki stammered.

Wha-

_Dammit!_

He slumped back in the tub, eyes wide and back pressed to the metal. He got too careless. "That's what I meant Raki, when I said they wouldn't see me anything but a yoma." His teeth grit, as he turned his head around, water dripping from his chest as he scowled then glared Raki right in the face. He hissed, "It's also what's on Clare, probably on her gut."

The boy took a few steps back, and shook his head. "I-it's y-yoma flesh?"

Naruto twisted his head, aiming forward towards the drain once more. "Yeah."

"W-w-when did th-they p-put it on?"

"At _birth."_ He stood up in the tub, snatched the towel off the floor and slammed the door in Raki's face.

Drying himself off quickly, he shoved his dirty clothes back on, facial expression completely flat.

Snapping the door back open, he quickly made his way to the bed where his backpack was, and shuffled through it.

Raki stood there watching on with bewilderment. "What's wrong?"

"You heard Clare. I was good as long as they didn't know I had a chunk on me, and as long as I don't awaken."

Food, water, sword, some beras, he could get pots, a backpack and others elsewhere. He just needed enough to _go._

Shoving what he could into his pockets, he flicked the door lock open.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Raki asked, eyes watery.

"I'm leaving Raki. I was okay with dying before this, but not now, I don't want to get killed the way she has planned."

"Why would you die?"

Naruto spun around and stalked towards Raki, frustrated at the boy finding out his secret, then playing stupid. "You didn't hear how Clare planned to decapitate me? How she planned to run a sword through my head, then my heart? You weren't there for that?"

"But why?"

Naruto stopped, frustration edging in his tone. "I just finished telling you. Because of the flesh on my back. The organization plans to off me for being a male claymore, or whatever the hell we are." He grabbed the cloak off the wall.

"So if they don't know, then they won't do that?"

"Right." He shrugged the cloak to fit better onto his shoulder.

"Then I won't say anything."

The blonde's hand was on the door handle when he stopped. "Why not?"

"I don't see you or Clare any different than how I see myself."

He turned it a quarter and stared at it. "Raki. I could awaken and eat people. That's pretty different."

"Clare can too, and I'll still follow her and not think twice about it." The boy answered honestly.

There was a pause between breaths. "If I stay." Naruto exhaled, grip lightening on the brass. "You can't say a word of it in front of Clare. Ever. I don't care if it seems like she's asleep, forty feet away, or across the town. If we ever run into any other warrior like her, or me, the same rules apply. Not a soul, save me."

"I won't say a word. I promise." Raki's eyes were firm and genuine.

Naruto nodded slowly, still in shock. "Please don't break your promise Raki." The blonde whispered vulnerably.

"I keep my promises." Raki shot him a grin and a thumbs up.

The blonde exhaled as he strode past the boy and sat at the edge of the bed, eyes staring forward. "Anything you want to know about it, now?"

"Does it hurt?" Raki blurted immediately.

"Why do you ask that?"

"It's just really red, it looks like it's swelling around the edges and kinda' seems like it's trying to burst out of itself. It looks painful. There's also a kind of scratching running down the center. Looks odd."

He snorted. "It sounds like it changes appearance every time someone looks at it. But no. It's not painful."

"Can I touch it?"

"No." Naruto physically turned his head to look at Raki. "Last time Isabelle did, I felt furious. Putting it in words, angry enough to want to beat someone to death." He scratched the side of his cheek and opened his mouth. "Felt painful too. Don't know why."

"How does it change you?"

"What sets me apart from humans?" He paused, and turned around, needlessly checking the room. "I can see auras, I can run faster, be stronger, shapeshift, regenerate my body, see memories of yoma that I eat and other stuff I'm probably not aware of yet."

"You _eat_ yoma?" Raki asked, eyes wide.

"Yeah. Not with my mouth, but something that comes out of my back. I almost ate the yoma you saw me beat to death. It was..." He searched for the words. "A tough instinct to suppress." He nudged Raki with an elbow. "You know the town with the yoma chief?" Raki nodded. "It also had a yoma there that was a blacksmith. I ate him. I think that's the only reason why I could resist the urge at the time."

"Now you know how to blacksmith?"

"Yeah." Naruto whispered as he turned his head away.

"What's the matter? That's awesome!"

"I get all the memories, Raki." The claymore whispered. "_All_ of them."

"So-." Before he finished asking the question, the boy's eyes widened with shock. "Oh." He ducked his head and was somber after hearing that.

"I'm going to see what I can do to work around that, if I even can." He stretched his arms up and over his head. "I'm hittin' the hay Raki. Sweet dreams." He laid on his side and snuggled into the covers, still fully dressed.

"Aren't you going to wait for Clare?"

Naruto looked over his shoulder. "Raki. She saved the life of someone that's more yoma than human, and did so against a creature that was completely beyond my ability." He shrugged then laid back down and closed his eyes. "Way I see it, she's invincible."

* * *

Naruto's eyes opened slightly, bright light streaming in.

He didn't sleep a wink the whole damn night. He couldn't get what Raki saw off his mind. How long would it be before the boy spilled the beans, and Clare spilled his blood? What if Clare just got tired of him, suspicious even? Even more so?

Even if they didn't do anything to him, what if he awakened? What if he hurt one of them, or caused them to get hurt.

As he stared towards the window, he saw both Clare and Raki speaking, bright white pouring in around them.

They were nice to him.

His blue eyes softened to a dull sapphire.

They truly were. He wanted to remember them like that and not feel...

Swallowing a painful lump, he finished his thought.

He didn't want to feel the inevitable betrayal again. Could he even recover if they did and if by some miracle he did survive. _Maybe_ he could form bonds, but not with someone who would kill him for what his parents did.

But would humans see him as anything better either? Had he stayed behind, could he have started a relationship with Isabelle?

He snorted bitterly.

No. And she was his best chance at any kind of relationship with a human. Any other would see the patch on his back, and vomit the second they processed what it was. Then the town would ostracize him, and he'd be on the road again.

His best bet would be with a claymore. Angel. Whatever the hell they were.

They could look past the flesh. But even then, they had 'standing orders' to execute any male with yoma flesh on them. Just because it was on his back, wouldn't mean that he'd be immune to oppression.

Feh. A yoma? They ate humans. Enough said.

While he was far away from even the thought of a relationship, he couldn't help but wonder if he'd die alone...

He rose to a seated position on the bed.

...Just as he came into the world.

His ears twitched when a metallic clanging was audibly coming down the hallway. His eyes then tightened as he shoved off the bed.

Five blue auras headed directly their way,_ obviously_ didn't speak of anything good.

"Stay calm Naruto." Clare whispered, so only he and Raki could hear. When she popped a pill, then her hood, he realized that she must have had enough time for the pills to take effect.

He loosened his grip over his sword's handle and shook the tension from his shoulders, easing his itch for battle. Sitting back down on the bed, he stared soullessly at the door as his face set like stone.

The door slammed open revealing three soldiers pouring into the room. "Don't move! We're looking for yoma!" All three stared calmly at the soldiers.

Naruto was counting his chances. If he could face a yoma, could he face a human easier?

"There were two soldiers found dead yesterday in the cathedral. Come with us."

A fully armored soldier grabbed him by the elbows and guided him into a side-by-side line in front of the open door. Raki was to his left, and Clare to his immediate right.

Two blue, and larger auras came strolling through the door.

A shorter man stood on the right. He had brownish-blonde hair, part of a greave on his right arm, and a long sleeve, green shirt and reddish-brown eyes. Naruto felt the man looked like a kitsune in human form.

The human on the left was _much_ larger framed, and a hell of a lot taller. By a head or two over the other one. Moreover, he was completely armored except for his head. Dusty brown hair, a ripped looking scar on his right cheek, and a square jaw set him apart from most of the people he knew.

"Sid." The soldier that held Naruto, stated respectfully towards the shorter guy.

"Yeah." The short man on the right, Sid, said. "She was about that height. Looked pretty suspicious running across the rooftops last night." He took a step forward, blocking their denials. "It's _strange_ that the three of you arrived in town yesterday."

Sid took another step towards Clare and both Naruto and Raki's hackles were through the roof, though both were also thankful that her hood was still flipped up.

"I'm not saying that you're a yoma, but for someone to _actually_ catch my knives midair with bare hands." He rolled out in a serpentine hiss, "I doubt any _normal_ woman could do that."

Raki was visibly fearful. Naruto ducked his head, teeth clenching.

"But maybe someone who isn't allowed here. Someone like one of the damned. Perhaps, a silver eyed, half-monster of a witch...well, I bet she _could._"

Naruto flinched, unsure of what his next course of action should be, as the man shot the hood off of her face and held Clare by the chin in a familiar manner.

Raki exhaled in relief.

"Heh. Your eyes don't _look_ silver." The man grinned cockily. Naruto even thought Sid smiled... _perversely._ "And what a pretty one you _are. _Such gorgeous _brown_ eyes..." He leaned in closer to Clare's face, visibly enraging Raki. His tone was crueler the closer he got to her. "But we fought a filthy half-breed. I wouldn't be surprised if she could change the color of her eyes."

Naruto felt his own rage bubbling to the point of overflow. Half breed?

_Half_ breed!?

How _dare_ he.

No _human_ did half of what she did, save Raki.

"Hey, asshole!" He barked, bringing attention to himself by Sid. "Do you know what it's like to lose an arm?"

The man smiled at him, then quirked a sharply groomed brow. "Are you _blind?"_

Within a second Naruto broke free of the men holding him, stepped next to Sid, and had his blade already half-drawn. Within another second, he kicked out the man's knee at the side and fully removed his blade. Within the third second, he ripped the man's right arm outwards, almost causing Sid to fall over and then Naruto held the blade underneath the armpit, and dug in.

On the fourth, Naruto ducked his head next to the human and whispered. "Would you like to?"

Four auras circled him, pole arms to his throat, and a sword at the base of his neck.

"You run me through and he loses his arm before my head hits the floor." Naruto growled and bared his teeth. "I'll be damned before you rats touch my family, harm their virtue, or otherwise threaten them. So go ahead." A grin parted his lips. "And maybe he'll _eventually_ learn how to walk balanced."

"Galk! If he does it, use the rack on the bastard and don't stop until he screams bloo-!"

"Let him go, and we'll leave." Naruto felt the point of the sword leave the base of his skull, in a pseudo truce by the massive man.

Sid turned his head towards the big guy, eyes betraying shock and disappointment. "Galk?"

"Had you talked to my sister like that, I would have done the same, if not worse." The big guy, Galk, spoke in a baritone voice. "You're acting like a heathen yourself."

Naruto lowered his sword, then sheathed it, though the pole arms weren't so kind enough to lift them.

Sid rose up quickly, spun around, and grabbed knives off of a sheathe on his arm.

The blonde didn't lose his smile. "Clare. Raki. Step back."

He'd duck, and Sid would be guilty of murdering his own.

Much like the town was already guilty of doing.

Though, the blonde's blue eyes widened when he heard Galk say, "Release him. We'll be going." He felt the other sharp edges leave his neck.

"Tsch! You're gonna' just let him get away with it!?" Sid asked, fury plainly visible in his eyes, and hands tightening over the blades in his hands.

"Shut up." Galk said calmly, as he, and the three other troops followed him out the door, leaving Sid to glare at him for a moment, before trailing the others in the group.

Naruto made sure to shut the door behind them, then he sighed in relief. Pressing his back to the door, he turned to look at the other two.

Raki's brown eyes were locked on him in amazement, while Clare stared outside like nothing ever happened.

"That was _wild!_ You did that so fast! Where'd you learn how to do that?"

Naruto blinked a couple times then said. "Isabelle pulled that on me one time. We were having a wooden-sword fight, where she was the princess, and I was the bad guy." He scratched behind his head. "That was even what she said, save for the whole... family bit. But the arm statement was _totally_ hers."

"Can you teach me?" Raki inquired.

The older teen walked up to the boy and smacked him on the shoulder. "What the hell you talkin' about? I spent all those beras on a cool crossbow and this whole time, you just wanted a big knife?"

Raki's eyes lit up, having forgotten he had a new weapon at his disposal.

It caught both of their attention, when Clare chose this time to speak. "You came up with the family drivel quickly."

Naruto froze, seemingly paralyzed. "Well, I uh." He looked down, scratched behind his head in a nervous tic and refused to meet either of their eyes. "That's, uh, kind of how I feel about you guys." He turned away towards the door then opened it slightly. "You don't have to be blood for that. I got to get something."

He left, and decided to not face up to what he said, and instead go looking for a hand mirror. Maybe the glass blower would have one?

As he went down the steps, he went over what he said.

His sweaty fists were clenched tight as he could feel the lump in his throat. He closed his eyes to spread the tears burning across the entirety of their moist surface.

He told them how he felt.

Which was why he had to leave. He was getting too close. He was already betrayed by Akemi, and by Matilda. He was thankful to not see the hatred in Isabelle's eyes, nor hear the words from Raki's, nor see Clare's blade directed towards him. Had he, it would have been the death of him.

Standing next to the check-in, he decided to let them at least...move on.

"Sir." He began, waking up the man behind the desk.

"Yes?"

He didn't turn to the man, so he wouldn't guess at the fact there was something wrong. "When you see the boy, my brother, Raki, leave with Clare..."

"Yes?"

Should he? He was comfortable with them. They saved his life. They treated him decent. They had given him no reason to do this.

"Then and only then, tell them I..." He shook his head, and gulped down his self loathing. "Tell them Sid and Galk offered me a job."

They'd know it was a lie. If not, they'd find out when they asked.

They'd know he was letting them go. Raki would spill at that point, and Clare would send word to the organization.

"Is there anything...else?" The man sounded suspicious, watching the boy's shoulders shudder, and fists clench even tighter.

Naruto turned his head over his shoulder. "Tell them, thanks for everything. That I can never repay them for their kindness."

"Are you sure you want to leave your family behind?"

He looked up, towards the door. "No."

* * *

He flattened his beras on the bare essentials. Food, compass, canteens, a map, a striker plate, backpack, extra clothes, S-hooks, a pot, even a small mirror attached to his wrist via twine.

Fire, warmth, cooking, light. Food to last a week, water to last the same, and cooking utensils.

He had everything he'd ever need for a long while.

Making sure his sword was strung tight to his waist, he turned his head back to the town, where the other two were. It was a shame they'd never meet again.

Heart set on leaving, he walked past the gate heading in another cardinal direction, then turned to a guard. "Sir?"

The soldier's bulky form waddled to face him. "Yes?"

"Where's the nearest town?"

"Forty miles down this road, son. There's a town called Sacrionne. It's a nice, quiet route to the town. There's a river that follows it halfway there."

"Thank you." Naruto bowed towards the man, then set on his path. What was that, a two day trip?

Eyes drifting skyward, he asked God for His blessing and Jesus for the help.

About half an hour later, he found himself well outside the city limits, and far enough away that he must have looked like a little dot to Rabona's gate guards. His eyes rolled around taking in the scenery.

A sparser forest than the ones he'd been used to, thankfully not a desert, and disappointed it wasn't the occasional jungle he heard about from Sibyl.

Checking both ways, both behind and in front, he verified there was no one in either direction as he pulled out his sword. He spun it in his hand, working the stiffness from his bones and frame.

Maybe he should have sent that yoma a goodbye gift. Had some Rabona takeout.

His yoma flesh shivered in delight at his thought.

Clare would take care of it, no problem. She proved her skill, it wasn't a matter of _if_ she'd take the damn thing out, it was a matter of time.

Each step he took in the town's direction, the more it weighed on him.

How the hell would he make money?

No one would just... let him use a blacksmith shop unless he paid them rent. He did that when making the bolts, and it sure didn't pay for itself. Well, it was cheaper than hiring them out, but it still was too much to actually make money off of it.

What could he do, then?

Housework, he supposed.

Well, actually no. With yoma roaming around, chores were typically done by the owner and anyone offering help, especially a foreigner, would be viewed with outright hostility, at _best._

The only thing he could do that was useful was just spot yoma.

He blinked and halted in his step.

A yoma that he could probably root out easy, and kill easier.

* * *

When it got dark, Naruto rested against a tree, hand on his sword, and slept. Before he even processed the different environment, he heard a question.

"You really are _that_ uncreative when it comes to getting a job? Really?" Red asked from her seat on the throne.

"It's one of the few things I can do!" He defended himself viciously.

"Yes, but think of your motives for doing so." Her fingers tapped together as her elbows rested on her claymore. "Fine. On one condition."

He perked up. "And that is?"

"No groups of people watching. No groups of yoma to kill. You either kill them one at a time, or you leave, until you gain the skill to face them."

Naruto nodded. He could do that.

"I'll teach you regeneration at a slightly later time, probably after the next couple towns you make some money at." She grabbed the handle of her sword, and stood up slowly. "But I will teach you a few techniques behind a stealth kill, tonight."

"Really?" He asked excitedly.

She smiled. "Of course." Closing her left silver eye, she left her blue eye open as she asked. "Stand next to me." When she saw he was where she wanted him, she closed both eyes. "Now watch closely."

Within the same second, a yoma popped up just three feet in front of the two.

It was about six feet tall, a brownish-red hue, and athletic shape. Its back was towards them. Naruto could tell it was looking around the room in curiosity.

"Closely." Red repeated with an apathetic expression, taking a few steps towards the yoma. As the word escaped her lips, he could see the yoma turn its head over its shoulders to see what it was.

Red yanked the yoma's head back by the hair, wrapped her arm over its shoulder, and slammed a closed fist into its throat, as if she were jerking her fist towards her direction. Unable to make a noise, she wrapped the rest of her arm around its throat, and had its neck in the crook of her elbow. With her other elbow, she pushed the crown of its head forward, until Naruto heard a meaty snap.

The blonde turned away, grimacing at the noise, then heard a thud as its body collapsed to the floor.

"Eat it." Red stated, not bothering to turn to face him.

His body responded. Long tendrils unweaved from his shirt, and slammed into the yoma, piercing it through, and wrapping around the bones. It dissolved the creature as it pulled closer towards him.

Naruto shuddered at the sound his flesh made as it scraped across the poor wretch, flopping, sloshing, sloughing noise as it obliterated the creature and absorbed its essence.

"That is _unsanitary."_ Red's nose scrunched as she watched it.

Nodding and the tendrils 'finishing their meal', Naruto felt on the receiving end, he received a memory of what it was like to have his neck snapped.

Unpleasant, but informative.

"You struck its throat to gag it, then used your arms like a fulcrum to break its neck?"

"Yes." The claymore in his mind stated simply. "Do you want to try it?"

As long as he'd never do anything like that on a human, _ever._ A demon? Sure, torture the bastards. Even if he'd be grossed out.

Her eyes narrowed at his sickly expression. "Naruto. What do you think it did to humans? Do you think it was any less cruel to its victims, than Akemi was to you, or her other vics'?"

He shook his head in the negative. It could've been worse, potentially.

"How do you think these things kill? Do you know?"

Naruto paused for a moment, reflecting on how Akemi killed her victims.

He nodded. "They eat humans guts while they're still alive."

"Indeed. And worse things still, if you can imagine. They _love_ to torture." She bit into the word. "They are _evil._ They mean to twist the innocent and oppress the good, killing both on their path to hell. So save the humans, by destroying these..._things."_

Nodding lightly, he took a deep breath, then exhaled.

"Good. Now you try." She snapped her finger, popping another yoma into existence, mere feet in front of Naruto.

Taking purposeful strides in its direction, Naruto grabbed it by the back of its crown, yanked it back and slammed a fist into the side of its throat, bringing it down to his level.

He hit its Adam's apple with all of his might, and felt its musculature ripple from the impact.

Sliding the crook of his arm around its throat, and pushing it with the same hand he yanked it back with, he twitched when he felt the thing fall limp in his arms when he heard the crack.

It had taken him less than three seconds to end its life.

Then, within a less than a breath, the entirety of his clothes exploded into miniature tendrils, demolishing the yoma into oblivion.

A shiver slid up his spine, when he could feel the ghostly presence of his own arms wrapping around his neck.

He grabbed his gut uncomfortably.

He felt _sick._

Red watched on with interest. "Not a bad imitation. Not bad at all." She paced around him. "You improvised well when you yanked harder to get it down to your level. Another way, is you can kick out the back of its knee."

She made a full revolution around him, and caught his gaze. "However!" She lifted up a finger. "I can still see that you are hesitant. Why?"

"I don't know?" He responded hesitantly. He knew that they were evil, and only committed evil, but it just felt so...real. So..._wrong_ to completely get rid of it.

"Do you know what an angel does, Naruto?" She asked, seemingly off topic.

"They fight demons?"

"Yeah, that's part of it. But they are their namesake. They are messengers."

His brow furrowed. So what?

"Demons, were originally angels too. However, they made a choice against their Creator. Imagine, who could be stupid enough to think they could exceed their Maker?" She shook her head in disbelief. "They became fallen angels, while the others chose the smart path and stuck with God."

He nodded hesitantly. "Okay?"

A sliver of her metallic eye shot to him, as she paused in her step. "You don't get it do you?"

"No."

Nodding, she said. "Alright then. These demons, these fallen angels, have a mission. Their mission, is to spread their word. Deceit." She hedged her head in one direction. "Hatred." Then in the other. "Pain. Misery. Torture. Oppression." She took a step, and waved her hands out to the side. "Every negative adverb, adjective, pronoun, verb and noun that you can think of, and then some more on top of that, they spread."

She took a step. "In a sense, they never lost their...job. They kept their position as a messenger, they just changed who they got the message from."

"From God, to the idiot?"

"Precisely! Now, the other angels job, is to spread positive messages. Love. Loyalty. Protection, so on so forth, and they do so from the very Mouth of God. They do so, with their obedience to the point where they don't have an original thought between their ears. When God says jump, they say 'amen' and do it."

He still didn't get it.

She sighed when she saw the perplexed expression. "It seems to me you called our kind 'angels' and I was trying to form an adequate comparison. What I was _trying_ to get at, is you are a messenger and you are fit to fight these nephilim." Her two eyes bore into him. "The question is, will you? Because if you don't, then their message of pain and misery will spread."

She closed her eyes and exhaled. "You have to get to the point where you detach yourself from what you're doing. Detach yourself from your own wants and kill these things without hesitation on God's order. Stop being a _pussy_ and do it!"

His eyes were wide, taking in her words. "Heh." A determined grin formed on his features. "What are you talking so much for. I don't see the next one."

Red returned his grin. "That's what I want ta' see. Now watch closely. I'll be using my sword this time." The smile widened. "Try not to blink."

His eyes snapped to the new yoma. This one was directly in front of him, and between Naruto and Red.

Naruto grinned as it growled at him, hands extending towards him.

It threw its head back, chest lurching forward as the yoma was pulled back by the shoulder, and Red stabbed it through the back, and pierced its chest by three feet.

Blood leaked from its mouth, as Red stepped to its right side, grabbed her handle with both hands and swung it like a bat, causing its body to spiral like a top and land with a thud.

A tendril on Naruto's spine, shot out of his back, snapped to the creature like a whip and latched onto the yoma's face. The tendril retracted slightly, the sound of it dragging the yoma echoing through the chambers. When it got to just a few feet away from Naruto, it lurched up, chewing on the yoma like a snake on a rat.

The blonde watched in detached fascination as the tendril toss it up at random, let go, then slammed back into the yoma. Did his tendrils change their way of eating?

Crlk. Crlk.

It crashed into the yoma's head and wriggled to get deeper. Naruto's fingers tapped the tendril, because he never really had time to...stare at it before.

The tendril ripped out of the yoma, and the tip of it twisted to point it towards Naruto. A straw like appendage, opened up like a flower blossom, revealing canine teeth in a cylindrical pattern running down its throat. Its opening spasmed, shivered, then fluctuated.

The blonde's brow rose in surprise at the sight.

The tendril rose its tip up in acknowledgment and returned to its meal, occasionally the yoma's body shook from its vigor.

Naruto pet the tendril extending from him, and shivered at the abrasive feel of its midnight black exo-plating. It looked like snake skin, though it was had more depth and was less flexible than the reptile's.

"That. Is really creepy." Red remarked from her place ten feet away. "Now, did you see what I did?"

The blonde teen pressed a point on his back with a thumb, then jutted where it came out his chest. "You went through the back, through my-" he shook his head and corrected himself, _"his_ heart. Then when you pulled out, you cut through most of the torso, hitting every organ."

"Good. Now had you not been here, I would have finished up by hitting the brain pan. Some yoma simply don't have a weakness in the torso region. Other yoma only have a weakness in the head or heart. Be aware of that."

"Attack both then, right?"

"Absolutely. What you just saw me do," she pointed to the yoma still being devoured by the tendril, "is a great way of killing awakened beings. It covers most of the organs, and most of them, put their vitals in their torso somewhere, rather than their head."

"Can I tell where it is? With my sensing?"

"Almost certainly for awakened ones. The human part will probably have its own aura, different from the main color. Attack it, divide, and completely separate it if you can." It was almost visible how a 'light' turned on. "Better yet, when you awaken, divide, then consume the part you divided."

She rolled her hand in demonstration. "It may not make sense now, but whenever you fight an awakened with high regeneration, it's difficult to take them out, because they reattach limbs within seconds. If you destroy that capacity and consume that limb or body part, you can whittle them down." Her pupils looked skyward as she added, "Provided you work quickly. Think fast!"

She snapped her finger, and another yoma popped up.

Naruto grinned ferally.

Kching! Chlrk!

Thud.

* * *

Sacrionne. Metallic disks drifted from left to right.

Small, charming little town. He passed their sprawling farmlands already, and was pleased to note the variety of crops and livestock they had. It was about mid afternoon, so he was confident that if there was a yoma, he'd take care of it in short order and go on the next raid.

Heading to where he thought the governing district was, by all the immobile auras, he headed into the one that seemed most official. A simple brick building, but better built than most of the stick framed homes nearby.

He blinked for a moment, only sensing one aura, rather than the several he was used to, and knocked before entering.

"Come in." A female voice allowed.

He did, and the woman behind the desk raised her eyebrows. "Oh, hello."

"Are you the town head? I just assumed..." He asked, scratching behind his head.

"Hm?" She readjusted her thin framed glasses. "Oh yes, I'm the town head, sit, please." She gestured to the chair in front of her desk.

Salt and pepper hair, cut into a boyish bob. Her features were slender, near bony.

Naruto's eyes quickly took in the office. Mainly wood, with a glossy finish.

He sat down, picking up on the contents of her desk. A glass of water, and several documents with a quill pen in ink nearby. Lifting his eyes from her desk and meeting dark green eyes, he stated. "Thank you kindly."

"Oh, no problem." She waved him off gently. "I must say, you certainly are a rare sight."

Tilting his head to the side, he asked. "How so?"

She looked up above her rimmed glasses. "Your face and hair dear."

Pressing his fingers to his tri-lined cheeks, he smiled lightly. He was unused to remarks about his features. "They are strange I suppose."

"Excuse my rudeness for the commen-."

He interrupted and expelled her worry. "It's no issue."

She smiled, clasped her hands, and leaned over the table slightly. "Alright then. Now what can I do for you sir?"

"What's your name, ma'am?"

"Oh! Hehe, excuse my manners. My name's Elizabeth, and yours?"

"Naruto Ka-." His eyes narrowed as his heart roiled in suppressed fury. "Naruto Uzumaki."

"Naruto." She tested the word out and nodded. "Okay Naruto, what can I do for you?"

He swallowed, unsure of how to start. "Well...This is going to sound odd, okay?" He held out a hand, palm facing down. "But do you have any problems, with, uh. Yoma?"

Her eyes widened. "Ho-how-?" When they saw his eyes, she nodded with understanding. "I see. You arrived."

"I'm not a claymore, ma'am. I'm a...surmiser."

"Surmiser?' She repeated. "You guess who yoma are?" Leaning back, she asked. "And how accurate are you?"

He grinned widely. "No less than one-hundred percent."

Fiddling with her thumbs, Elizabeth continued her line of questioning. "How long have you been doing this?"

"A year, and a few months." He shrugged, not realizing the slip of his tongue. He _personally_ hadn't hunted them that long.

Her eyes widened. "Wow. How many cases?"

"Over five, personally." He hedged.

"How much do you charge?" She pushed her glasses up in interest.

"How much do you pay the ange-, sorry, the claymores?"

Tilting her head lightly, she said. "Several hundred beras, or more depending on the yoma and how many."

Hehe-wait. What? "You're joking, right?"

She was dead serious, though seemed confused by the inquiry.

"Twenty five, plus my bag's worth of provisions."

Elizabeth's jaw dropped. "Wh-what? That _cheap?"_

Naruto nodded firmly. "And if I'm unsuccessful in any way, you won't have to pay."

"Done!" She extended her hand for a closed deal. "Deal?"

He returned the handshake with a grin. "Deal. I'll be done in five minutes."

"Huh?"

He turned around and left.

He already saw the red aura in the markets, hawking wares, before even approaching the town head.

Within a minute's walk, he stood outside the pottery stand, and stood face to face with the yoma.

"Hey thar' son, what can I do fer' ya?" The yoma looked like a human enough in his current form.

But knowing that he felt like a yoma to the creatures, Naruto played along. "Oh! I dunno. Sometimes I get in the mood for...sausage skins?"

Upon finishing the words, the yoma grinned widely. Sausage skins were code for human guts, considering that sausage was typically lined by pig intestine.

"Ah lad! You speak to my dear heart!" The man barked loudly for the sake of public appearance. "There are many a fine specimen."

Naruto gestured with an index finger in a 'come hither' motion. The yoma leaned over the table, almost knocking over a few pots. Leaning in to whisper, his hand was already on his blade's handle. "Funny you should mention your heart."

The blonde yanked the man over his own table, and drove his sword deep into its chest, the yoma's head resting on his shoulder as Naruto pushed the handle, cutting through all its major internal organs. He grimaced when he could feel the blood gush onto him, and organs slip through its flesh and splatter on the ground.

When he heard the demon's exhale, he yanked the blade out, blocking out the screams of the humans nearby.

The tip of the shortsword easily penetrated skull. Grabbing it by the hair, he sliced through its neck, and lifted it up to the crowd, revealing its true form.

He heard several vomit.

Upon returning the sword to its sheathe, he felt his back warm up at the scent of yoma blood. Naruto's eyes widened as he smacked a hand on the tendril, preventing it from escaping his shirt to feed. "Not yet. We have to get rid of Vuripes still." He murmured, causing it to slither back into its former place.

Sighing in relief, he lowered his arm, and strode back to the governing hall, much to the audible disgust of nearby onlookers. Some looked away, others murmured quietly, covering their mouths as they called him a variety of names.

Even others, sent him a word of thanks.

He popped open the door to Elizabeth's office and popped the yoma's head on the table, leaving a small puddle of blood behind.

She flinched slightly, and used a small charcoal stick to turn its head around. "Already? Who was it?"

"The potter in the market place."

She nodded and reached into her desk for a small sack. "I've gathered the payment here." She left it on the table and gestured to it. "Gather provisions where you need them." She wrote on a pad of papyrus and handed it to him. "This lets all the market owners know that you are not only trusted, but should expect whatever you need, freely. Check to make sure both-."

Naruto smiled and pocketed both payments. "No need ma'am. I trust you." He bowed, and rested his right arm over his stomach, as he'd seen royalty do, at least in that one play. "Thank you, and hope you won't need me anytime soon."

Elizabeth smiled widely, revealing offset and browned teeth. "Indeed! Though I have to say, it's been a pleasure doing business with you. Should we need your assistance, how can we get in contact again?"

"Umm." Naruto scratched behind his head. "I haven't gotten that far in the business yet. I'll probably visit all the towns I can, then make the rounds again."

She frowned lightly. "I see."

"Have you heard of any town that's incapable of paying the fee for an inspection by claymore?"

Shaking her head, she gave a clipped response. "No, but there is one that had a yoma problem, or so we heard from their merchant."

"Which one?"

She pursed her lips in thought, then said. "Tadourant, I believe. It's a few days journey from here, on the border of the eastern country."

* * *

Naruto stretched over a spot on the ground he'd rest. He made good time, he was already halfway there, so he could afford to do so. The town was really decent. They gave him enough provisions to last weeks. Grudgingly, most of the time, but the tailor was effusively kind, even proffering leather gloves, and a good clothes wash to get rid of the blood.

Which, he was guiltily wearing. The gloves were fingerless, but kept most of their warmth on the palms. It also made grabbing his sword, slightly easier, considering the friction that helped grab the handle of his sword.

He felt good. Useful, even. He got paid well for a job he did quick. Maybe he could even cut the fee down, but he'd have to see how long he could last with what he had, doing what he did. Should it be a flat rate, no matter the difficulty of the job?

Who knows, running into towns with yoma might be rare, plus he'd have to travel a lot to actually get jobs. An inn, places to restock, resupply and regroup, would no doubt be expensive.

Dropping his sizable backpack next to where he'd be sleeping, he rested against it and fell asleep in moments.

He heard the drumming of fingers behind him. Turning around, he saw Red staring at him analytically. "Nice payday. Quick and professional elimination. I would have preferred a quieter assassination, such as one behind closed doors... if you slipped, you would have eaten a yoma publicly, and would have shattered your reputation."

Nodding, he asked. "Would you have any other suggestions besides that?"

"Hmm." She hummed, eyes narrowed in thought. "Don't forget that I only showed the basic techniques of attack. You can apply and re-purpose them in any way you see fit, and whatever way seems necessary. You don't have to go by the textbook every time." She wagged her finger at him. "These are basics enough to get you to survive long enough for what else I have to teach you, okay?"

"Okay." He sat down and brushed his lap off reflexively. "What do I learn today?"

"Well." Red spoke informatively. "I need to work on your survivability, then your combat readiness, then your special abilities upon release."

He turned around, and paced towards the throne, as she shook her red and blonde hair, straight. "Meaning?"

"_Meaning._" She clucked her tongue. "Meaning we start with healing and the capacity to take damage yet still keep coming, and being able to dodge within a split second. If I can form a juggernaut out of you, the others should follow. That should take about a day on the real world."

Red stood up, sheathed her sword, and walked towards a blank block wall.

Naruto's eyes rose. What the hell was she doing?

She waved a hand in front of it, raising two clocks to the surface, though they were the same color and texture as the wall she pulled it out of.

It was then, that he could hear a slight clicking sound.

Tick-tick-tick-tick.

It sounded like a stopwatch.

"You might get a headache when you wake up. But don't be alarmed, it's just increasing your learning capacity by speeding up your processing."

She then twisted one hand on the clock around several times, counter clockwise.

Once she did, he tried asking what that was for.

Only his mouth took a full on minute before it could even part his lips. He could feel his lips reverberate as they finally parted flesh, and bounced back to their normal position. His finger twitched, even though he tried raising his arm.

It was like the world itself slowed beyond a crawl.

Tick.

He could feel every muscle in his body try to move faster than what seemed capable, however, everything seemed...clearer.

The crows feet on the side of Red's silver eye, sloped in a perpetually angry slant, the orange tint to the sheen in her red hair, and the cold gray eyes lolling slowly to the other clock.

Tick.

Her small hand took no less than thirty minutes to turn the other clock, clockwise, her motion slowly becoming faster and faster, until it felt like it surpassed real time, before she readjusted it to its normal level.

"What the hell did that do?" He could finally ask, without his voice sounding distorted, and without thinking faster than he could move.

"That slowed time in your mindscape, while allowing freedom of motion for us. First off." She looked sharply at him over her shoulder. "Reattaching."

"Hu-?" Before the word even escaped his lips, Red disappeared from sight entirely. He felt a strong breeze brush past him, and sudden ache in his elbow.

Lifting his arm up, he expected to see his hand sooner than he did.

Instead, he saw a stump shooting blood like an off-time geyser.

Hyperventilating, he grasped the sliced appendage and screamed, taking awkward steps as he screamed in shock.

"Shut up!"

He felt a foot embed itself in his back, causing him to fly forward, off kilter, and landing on his armless limb.

"Catch."

His eyes widened as he was hit in the face by his own lopped off limb. When it struck his face with his elbow, it flew off to the side, and spun a few feet away, but left him dazed.

"Do I need to beat you to death with it?" She asked, a cold fury entering both of her eyes. "Or can your tongue finally touch your elbow?"

Scrambling to it, he picked it off the ground and threw up in his mouth as he picked it up. "What the hell am I supposed to do with it!?" The hand fell limp, backwards.

"I know where it's going if you keep it up! Put it back on your damn arm! Sliced edges together."

Obeying her, he stuck it to his arm wondering what he should do. He waited a moment, before bellowing desperately, "It's not working!"

"Force your youki into it you nitwit!"

He was too panicked to do so in a calm and collected manner, and almost immediately went past seventy percent.

He felt a hand grope the back of his head, before slamming it into the hard tile floor, breaking his nose, and spraying blood beneath him. He let go of the arm from the impact. "Come back!" She barked in his ear.

Immediately, he could feel his youki recede.

Wait...He could feel it?

Sensing his question, she stated. "Only here. You'll have to monitor its affects on your physicality in the outside world." She gripped him by the nostrils and yanked it forward, causing him to scream in agony, and the bones to flap back into place.

"Mend it!"

"How?!" He yelled back at the evil witch.

She grinned widely, but he wasn't fooled. "I'll keep breaking it if you don't figure it out on your own."

Suddenly, he could feel his nose knit together, slowly. But if he could describe it, it felt like his nose formed hooks. These hooks then linked together and melted, before pulling taught and sealing.

"Good!" She patted the side of his face to the point it hurt. "Now do the same to your arm."

He sniffled, causing blood to drip in the back of his throat, grabbed his flopping arm with his good one, and put it to the flat fleshy surface. After a few seconds, he could tell it was beginning to take, his sliced bones were the first to connect solidly, then the flesh around it, sealed.

He flexed his fingers and stood up. "Hey, I got it!" He lifted his head up, eyes bright as he felt proud at his small, yet seemingly impossible accomplishment.

"Very good." The hair on the back of his neck stood on end at her smile. "Now work quickly, before you lose too much blood."

As his other arm fell and hit the carpet he was standing on, he realized it would be a long night. Ripping it off the ground, he snapped the two sliced portions against each other, and closed his eyes.

"Tatata!" Red chided. "Be aware of your environment!"

His eyes snapped open and he fell to his knees. Or at least to their stumps.

He started hyperventilating again. He only had his one arm to work with!?

Pressing his good hand in the carpet, he gripped the fabric and wrenched himself to his other arm, and snatched into his hand. Rolling to the side, he barely evaded a flickering sword.

Guboom!

He gripped his other sliced arm tightly, even as he and his legs went in different directions from the impact.

He spat out dirt when he felt his back hit the floor.

Naruto could see that Red's perverse grin was powdered with dust, her hands still locked on the sword buried halfway down into the floor. He shivered, and began breathing to where he almost became light headed.

"Naruto!" Red called out sweetly. "This is all in your head! Don't puss out on me, huh?"

Closing his eyes, he pressed his flesh together, and shuddered at the disgusting squelch as the connective tissue reunited. Tossing himself to the side, he narrowly evaded another downward strike.

"Good! It's all in your head! Now run!" She yanked the sword out.

Run? With wha-?

This time, even with the profuse amounts of blood leaking from the base of his knees, Naruto grinned.

Shapeshift.

His hands exploded, widened, sharpened. His fingertips were more like talons. The palms of his hands were like cleats, with glossy black spikes jutting out and breaking the tile floor into something he could manage.

The bones in his arms thickened several times over, as his own muscles cannibalized his stumpy legs to change his arm's muscular structure. The arms had eight main muscles running down to the joints, four connecting from his wrist to his elbow, and four from his shoulder socket to his elbow as well. It looked like a rounded plus sign divided at the elbow, with support musculature keeping his arms solid and steady.

Naruto rolled then snapped his shoulders, allowing his arms to rotate in nearly 360 degrees. It changed his arm, chest, back, and shoulder muscles enough that he could stand and maneuver with his arms better than he could his legs.

The flesh that formed its exo-skin, was fibrous in a way that reminded him of a tightly woven cloth, rather than form the pores of his normal body.

As he heard the whir of a blade humming towards him, he bolted forward, and leapt up to the wall, stuck to it like cooked spaghetti, and climbed it with ease. Moreover, it was with enough alacrity, that even Red stopped her strikes to watch his motion.

Eyes now staring at her and a golden color with a slit down the center of them, Naruto bared his elongated teeth at the warrior, and growled.

Her eyes widened in fascination. "A near instantaneous transformation in your body's composition." She murmured in scientific wonder. She took a step, unconsciously pulling her blade free from the ground. "With near perfect locomotion, even when you have never used that transformation before..."

Sheathing her sword, she held up her hands in a surrendering gesture, and directed his attention towards his legs. "You are free to access them and reattach them."

His eyes narrowed as he crawled down the wall, seeming more like a spider than a human with the ease at which he was doing so. His torso wasn't flopping over from his back, nor was he falling over from his arms losing their balance.

When his hand touched the floor, he stared at her, and never dropped his gaze on his way towards his legs.

Body snapping back, and retracting its musculature to his normal form, he popped the leg onto his stump, and sealed it to his skin within seconds. Likewise, when he repeated it on his other leg.

His eyes flashed blue once more, though his unsettling stare never left her.

She grinned, even as a shiver rolled up and down her spine. "I stand corrected. You just might turn out to be one of the best among us."

He exhaled, and stared between his knees that were nearly to his chest. Pushing himself up, he rose to full height and brushed himself off. "Was that everything about regeneration?"

Red snorted. "All that I know about it. Almost. We were trained to reattach under a full combat simulation." Her eyes became pensive. "One that more than a few died from. You need to be able to reattach when dodging _and_ fighting. Sometimes you use your de-limbing as a trap to draw yoma in, or get them too confident."

She walked towards Naruto, hands held out at her sides. "Other times, you learn to retreat, regroup, and reassess while reattaching, to the point it nearly becomes second nature. Worse, you learn while you're bleeding out. It's especially dangerous and disorienting." She stopped, then pointed at him. "But you, can do even better than what I ever could. You could make your tentacles-."

"Tendrils." Naruto corrected her, not knowing where he got the term, but preferring it nonetheless.

"Tendrils," she emphatically corrected herself, "grab your detached limbs and bring it to you without ever having to risk your neck to get it. Better yet, even if it is out of your grasp, you can visualize your own limbs."

"How?" That would be insanely useful!

"I don't know." Red stated honestly, as her hands dropped. "Ask a regenerative specialist, a defensive type, the best way of doing it, then practice in the real world. Just remember, this," she circled with her arms stretched out, "is all in your head. But the same principles apply to out there."

His eyebrows scrunched in curiosity. "Anything else you'd ask 'em?"

Shrugging, Red finished her pace, and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Yeah, but not a claymore. An awakened being, or a yoma. You should ask, how to better your transformations."

Nodding, he turned his head to line his chin with his chest. "I already get the yoma's memories, but I've never run into an awakened being. Are they scary?" He scratched at the thin lines on his arms.

"Very."

He licked his chapped lips, tongue nearly sticking to them. "Are they strong?" He heard Clare's answer, but Red was a lot higher up than her, and she knew about him.

"Yes."

His silvery tinted blues met her off-color eyes. "Will I win against Vuripes? Do I have a chance?"

"If God an' His Son are on your side," she nodded emphatically, "yeah. You got nothing to fear in that regard."

"If not?" Like just in his own power.

"Not a snowball's chance in hell."

"Heh." His dejected expression gave way to a hopeful one. "Guess I need to work on my faith pretty soon."

* * *

Naruto yawned wide, stretching his arms out in the darkness embracing him. With the beras he just made just a little over a day ago, he'd be sleeping in an inn tonight! No open roads for him! Hell yeah.

One with a toilet, a bath, food and a sweet soft bed. Thank you Jesus!

His head turned to read the sign he was passing, even though it was near pitch black. "Tadourant?" He murmured under his breath. Shrugging, he continued down the poorly lit street, feet clacking on the stone pavers.

Eyes drifting across the town, he noticed only one light emanating from a lone building up ahead, ending the street he was on. Even a couple hundred feet away, he could hear happy cheers as its warm glow burned a pale orange onto the cold gray of the stone.

That _had_ to be the inn.

He shifted the bag on his shoulder and headed towards the thin slivers of light. His eyes lit up gleefully at the sound of people. People who wouldn't recognize him. Maybe he could blend and enjoy himself.

Opening the door, and stepping in shyly, he almost flinched at the baritone slur of a drinking song.

Eyes flickering from sloshing pitcher to pitcher, he realized that their temporary elation was due to drowning themselves in beer. His town had celebrations from time to time, and celebrated the same way.

Three wooden poles holding up the floor above. One slash, collapse.

Eyes flickered left, taking in three quiet men hedged in a corner. One with glasses and a black coat, the other two, cloaked, once more, in black.

Ten men wrapping each other shoulder to shoulder, rocking back and forth to the rhythm of the song they were crooning. One fighter, scar over eye, strong build.

Inflexible.

Nine common men.

Towards the middle of the room, he saw seven tables, each with occupants in good cheer.

Far right. Pub table. One lone man setting a bottle of-

Naruto's blue eyes wound tighter.

Moonshine. Four empty ones next to it in front of an 'angel'. If they wanted to blend, getting rid of the capes would have to be part of it.

His eyes rose in surprise, realizing her black aura was over three times the size of Clare's. Did that mean she was that much stronger, too?

Empty stools around her. Few eyes landed on her, couple of them grateful. Others, cruel.

He measured the so-called, 'claymore' closer.

Pale blonde hair, combed to both sides of her face, her right side tucked behind her ear, the left hanging free.

She turned slightly in his direction, enough to see her profile.

Slanted silver eyes, cropped eyebrows, mischievous smile.

Seeing her as a potential friend, he sidled up to the stool next to her, gave her a cheerful greeting, and turned towards the man behind the bar, rag wiping the inside of a pitcher. He spoke quietly. "Can I ask where the inn, is?"

"'Scuse me?!" The bartender turned his head to the side. "Can't hear ya' over the singin'!"

"Where! Is! The! Inn!?" Naruto barked back.

"'Ere! It's a discoun' tonight. Thanks to the little lady o'er here." The bartender tipped the glass in her direction.

Said woman tittered, cheeks flushed. "Keke. _Little lady_, you're such a flirt." She gave a wave with her free hand, and rested her other arm on the table, as she sipped on the bottle of moonshine.

Wiping the table in front of her, the bartender didn't say another word.

"How much for a room?" Blue eyes drifted to her, then back to the bartender.

"Huh?"

"How much! For a room!?" Naruto's brows knit together, hating the fact that he couldn't be heard over this ruckus behind him.

"Bera." The man shrugged, and Naruto threw one across the table. "Anythin' you want to drink?"

"Water." He requested.

"It's glorified piss."

Naruto's teeth grit as his face tightened. "Wine then. The cheap stuff." The man nodded, and poured him a pitcher's worth. When the bartender didn't say the price, he asked. "How much?"

"On me." The warrior next to him flashed an oily grin as she slid a bera across the table in the bartender's direction.

Naruto's blue eyes widened. "Oh no! You can't do that! I've got en-." Her expression brooked no room for argument. "How can I pay you back?"

"Oh nothing." The lady smiled sweetly as her index fiddled with the opening of her bottle. "Well, maybe _something_ a little later." She poured some of his wine into his pitcher.

"Thank you." He tossed it back, hoping to get the liquid down. He shivered as it slid down his throat, as his mouth near gorged with vomit. "Ya' sure ya' didn't piss in this?" He addressed the bartender.

"Now that I think about it." The man remarked sarcastically.

Sighing, Naruto decided he preferred the lady for company. "Why'd you come here, miss?"

"Helen. Name's Helen." Her cock-eyed smirk reminded him of his own. Maybe mixed with a little Arabella? "Just killed a yoma. The town wanted to pay for my stay, lodging and some alcohol in appreciation. I wasn't about to turn 'em down."

"Nice to meet you, Helen." He shook hands with her, much to her amusement. "You hear of any town in your travels that can't afford your expertise?"

"Naw!" She waved him off and hiccuped, leaning back on her stool, causing Naruto to worry over her balance. Yawning, she stretched her hands above her head and puffed out her chest. "Aiya! Why do you want to know _that _anyways_?"_

He rocked back and forth uncomfortably as her eyes devoured him hungrily.

"I dunno. Curious I guess, Miss Helen."

"Aww! Such a sweet one here." She grinned as she leaned over his direction, and poured him some more alcohol. "Get me another bottle 'tenda'." She addressed the bartender with a different voice, almost annoyed by his presence.

The bartender rebuffed her request. "Sorry, hon'. But I wouldn't get another bottle for ya' if you had a pair 'tween your legs. What you had so far would kill a normal man, I doubt your much different."

Helen glared at the man, but didn't say anything.

Naruto never noticed that when she filled up his pitcher with more alcohol, that it was from her own bottle.

Worse, he didn't think twice about drinking the provided liquid, even with the bartender watching the two with his arms crossed.

Tossing the drink back, he immediately noticed the difference as he spluttered and his vision swam. "Wh-what the hell?" It at least tasted better, burned his mouth less, but his chest and throat more.

"Oh! Sorry about that." Her grin widened. "I must have grabbed the wrong bottle."

Accepting it at face value, he said, "Oh. It's okay." His head swayed to the side and tilted, as he tried to see straighter. About to fall off his stool, he grabbed her by the shoulder armor to regain steadiness. "S-sorry." He shook his head to reset his crossed eyes.

She leaned in closer to his face, a mere foot away and whispered huskily. "Oh!" Helen laughed, eyes smiling in equal portion to her grin. "If you want to put your hands all over me like..._that_!" She ran a hand up and down his left thigh, warming it. Naruto, in his dazed state, wasn't averse to it. "Just ask. Hm?"

Her face got closer to his, mere inches from him. "You ever wonder what a claymore looks like?" Her hand ran up and down his leg faster, and for some reason, it was causing bodily reactions, including flushed cheeks. "Maybe you wonder how _I_ look?"

"Sis!" He giggled. "I know what you look like! I see ya' right here!" His eyes widened as her hand got a little too close for comfort inside his thigh, rather than hanging around his quadricep.

"Hmhmhmm!" Her mouth just about touched his ear as she whispered into it, hot breath tickling his ear. "That's not what I mean." She nibbled the bottom of his earlobe, then said. "I'll show you mine, if you show me yours."

The alcohol vaporized in his system within a split second that he felt the saliva on the tip of his earlobe. Pulling away, he hopped off his stool, stumbled to semi-balanced legs, and looked towards the bartender.

The bartender didn't say a damn word as he stared down, almost ashamed.

The blonde's eyes narrowed as he realized what the man just about let happen. "I want a refund." He growled.

He snatched the bera back off the table. His face shot to Helen. "And you!?" He barked in offense. "You are an evil _bitch!"_

He could feel the heat flushing his face, and see the angry expression etch on her face as the pub got eerily still.

There was a slight murmur. Did he just insult a silver eyed witch?

Naruto didn't stop his accusation as he jut his chin in the claymore's direction. "Now I know why you're alone."

Her silver eyes widened, as her pupils constricted, jaw tightening in suppressed murderous rage.

Exhaling in a calming breath, he didn't reach for the sword he felt like using. "Out of respect to your kind, I won't run you through like a pig on a spit." He turned around, then tilted his head back in her direction. "But if I ever see you again, I _promise_ I won't be so forgiving." His teeth grit as he threw his hands up. "And I swear, if I ever hear of you pulling this shit on some other kid, I will kill you slowly!"

The door slammed shut behind him.

Screw it! He'd rather sleep in the snow than pay those pricks a blue bera.

He took a few steps down the pavement, when he heard the door open behind him, allowing the silence to pervade the street. Turning his head around, the person at the door yelled.

"Deneve!" Helen called out to the empty street. "He didn't fall for it."

The hair on the back of his neck bristled when he heard a voice no more than two feet behind him. "Fall for what?" The voice was sharper, steely, and deeper in tone than Helen's.

Helen took another step down the stairs and a little closer to Naruto. Her grin was slanted as she lifted her arms at waist height, from the elbows. "My seductive charm of course." She closed her eyes then flicked her hair cockily. "I _was_ going to kill him privately, but he wanted it a public spectacle."

She drew her claymore. "Now I have to regain my honor as someone who isn't a pedo! Should I beat him to death?"

Not liking the fact that he didn't see the person behind him, he turned his head over his shoulder.

The claymore's light-blonde hair was no longer than two inches, and her features were more boyish, than Helen's vulpine.

Her black aura melted into the night background, so he had no way of measuring her strength.

"Can't stand the fact that I'm right?" Naruto verbally shot towards Helen. "So you want to kill me for it?"

"No, no." Helen waved her empty hand. "This and that are two different things. While that hurt..." She turned her sword slightly, allowing it to gleam the same light as the moon. "I'm killing you because you're a yoma."

Chkang!

His eyes widened as the blade gently touched his Adam's apple. Though, it was blocked from the finishing blow, due to the other sword locked against its tip, hanging just on the right side of his shoulder.

"Are you _crazy_ Helen!?" Deneve barked at the woman who's blade was currently resting too close for comfort. "I'll have to kill you if you kill him."

Naruto didn't dare swallow as he stepped back and held his arms up in an open posture. "Wha-wha?"

"He's a yoma? Can't you feel the youki?"

"He doesn't _feel_ like a yoma you moron! He feels like one of _us!"_

"An awakened being?" Helen asked her friend, almost excitedly, as she pulled the blade away.

"No." Deneve slung her blade back in her sheathe, and spoke in a long-suffering tone. "Like a descendant."

"A descendant?" Helen shot back in amazement then sheathed her sword. "No way! I thought they were all dead!"

"Who told you that?" Deneve asked her friend in near indifference.

Helen's grin closed her eyes. "I just thought-."

"That was the problem." Deneve finished then shook the boy's shoulder. "Hey, kid."

"Wh-wha-wha-."

"Snap out of it, eh?! Simple mistake." Helen reaffirmed, then slammed an open palm on his other shoulder, slapping him back to reality.

"What the hell was that about?!" Naruto barked at her, eyes shifting to a lighter color.

"Oh? Wow!" She leaned in closer, causing him to tilt back away from her. "His eyes almost turned silver Deneve! That is so _cool!"_

"Answer his question, Helen." The long-suffering tone, simply shifted to a suffering one.

"Oh! I was about to have fun with you if you came up to my apartment room. I thought you were a yoma, especially when you wanted to hear about the towns that couldn't pay." She put an index finger to her lips, and added. "And by having fun, I mean stabbing you until you stopped bleeding."

"And then I would have had to kill Helen." Deneve added, unnecessarily. "Now take a few steps back."

He did so, and still kept his hands in a hostage position.

"Good."

"Now strip kid!" Helen added, teasing grin on her face.

"What?" He asked, again, unsure as to what was going on.

"Helen." Deneve said, an edge of exhaustion sliding in.

"Fine." Helen rolled her eyes, and cocked out a hip, hands on it. "It's a law, that if we run into a male with youki, they must prove that they are not one of us." She said, obviously from rote memorization. "Do so, by requesting the male to open the front of their shirt and reveal their torso. If untouched by yoma flesh, allow passage, if not, interrogate, then confiscate them immediately."

"Why?" Naruto asked, specifically not unbuttoning his shirt.

"Because some town's have started to try and emulate our program. None have met success." Deneve stated coolly.

"Yet." Helen piped. "Now if you want a tip, add a little dance!"

He sighed, and chose to follow along with their rules. Showing off his stomach, he tilted lightly to both sides to show off the sides of his gut. "Done?"

"_Aww_! No sway for momma?" How she could be both sarcastic and teasing at the same time, Naruto had _no_ idea.

Deneve sighed, rubbing her smooth forehead, in exasperation. "Thank you for your cooperation. I apologize on behalf of my friend."

He shrugged, trying to brush off the near death experience. "You're just doing your job. I appreciate it. I'm sorry for what I said Miss Helen." He ducked his head lightly in an apologetic manner. "I thought you were evil."

"Wh-." Her thinned eyebrows almost touched her hairline in shock. "Wow. No problem, kid. I getcha'." Helen warned him kindly. "Though be careful, because there _are_ some like that in our group. Probably. We can't attest for everyone."

Naruto grinned as he scratched the back of his head. "I've had nothing but good experiences with you guys, well, gals, so far."

"You've run into one of us?" Deneve asked, somewhat surprised.

"Yeah. Clare don't know her rank." He shrugged. "Wouldn't have mattered anyways. She saved my life, and another kid a bit younger than me. Nice group. Last I heard, she was in Rabona, taking on a yoma."

"Huh." Helen's eyebrows jerked up as her mouth puckered in surprise. "We'll say hi to her if we run into her. She must be pretty good to be selected for covert, so I can't say that we will for certain."

"That's fine. But if you do, it would be appreciated." He tossed his head to a side. "So where are you headed?"

"Off to Sacrionne." Deneve replied. "We heard accounts of a yoma in that region."

Naruto had to force his proud grin down. "I see. Good luck to you two, wish I could'a seen you in action!"

"Heh." Helen put a fist to her mouth. "You wouldn't have talked down to me like that had ya!"

"Sure I would've! Had you been a human doin' it though, I'd 'a beaten you purple!"

"Feh." Helen pressed her extended middle finger to his forehead. "Gotta work on your one liners kid."

He pulled away from her hand. "Yeah, yeah."

"Where are you going?" Deneve chose to ask the boy, causing him to hop lightly in surprise.

"Well, I don't know yet." He shrugged as his left cheek wormed to the side. "I'm just a wanderer right now."

"What do you do for food?" The short haired claymore inquired.

"Just some uh, odd jobs." He explained awkwardly. "Nothing specific really."

Besides killing yoma. That was pretty specific. Should he call himself a bodyguard?

Accepting it at face value, Deneve didn't ask anything further. "Good luck then."

"Yeah! Maybe we'll see you around sometime." Helen added, and sidled next to Deneve, heading out of town. "Wait!"

Naruto turned around, eyes a little wide. "Wassat?"

"You know our name, what's yours?"

He blinked, and stated. "Naruto." He grinned sharply, and waved to the both of them. "Take care, and kill some demons, angel-san."

* * *

"_Finally_! I'm starving over here!" Helen stretched her shoulders, and hopped up and down a few times to get blood flowing.

"We must speak with the town head first, Helen." Deneve murmured, her emotions even. "Perhaps we can narrow its location down."

Helen turned, holding her arms behind her back. "You can't feel it either?"

"No. It might be a farmer, a traveler, or a merchant. If we know its times of attack..."

"Yeah, yeah. I know, this ain't my first yoma hunt ya' know."

"You act like it." Deneve teased, with a slight smirk.

"Take that back!" Helen pursed her expression as she pushed Deneve through the town head's door.

"You couldn't even tell the kid was human. That was embarrassing."

"Screw you." Helen blustered. "I needed to warm the kid up and make him think he could take advantage of me. He wouldn't have fallen for it without me drinking-."

"You drank _before_ the kid showed up. You just wanted to get loaded."

"But it was _free._" Helen whined. "I _never_ turn down free stuff."

Deneve lost all expression on her features as she stood at attention. Helen, on the other hand, gave the town head a half hearted salute.

"Ah, you arrived. My name is Elizabeth." Said woman stood to her feet, and shook hands with both soldiers. Her expression was squinted, as if hating to have to say it. "I apologize, but your services are not required."

"Huh?" Helen was the first to blurt. "Didn't ya have a yoma?"

"Yes, but a surmiser came and finished it off." She reached down under the desk, and placed a head gently where a blood stain was already located. Deneve's silver eyes hung on the stain.

"Surmiser? What the hell is that?"

Deneve held a hand out to halt Helen's train of thought. "What did they look like?"

Elizabeth blinked, and folded her hands on the desk in front of her. "Well. To answer your question ma'am." She addressed Helen. "The...surmiser, I thought, was one of your kind at first, and he seems to kill yoma."

"He?" Deneve stated, eyes narrowing. "Did he say his skill level?"

"It sounded as if he was skilled in assassinating yoma. It scared our people at first, but he killed it quick. It didn't even scream, but he got the right one, and with one try. He just asked for some supplies, food and twenty five beras. A small sum, and a kind enough boy."

Deneve's and Helen's eyes met. That was uncanny skill. Killing a yoma without it screaming?

It stunk of hard training.

"Did the townspeople notice any change in this individual?" Deneve inquired sharply, leaning over the mahogany desk.

"No. No golden eyes, veins or anything like what your kind do when they kill."

Helen turned towards Deneve and asked. "Ya' think it was a yoma killing its own? Maybe an awakened being?"

Her companion shook her head in the negative. "No. That has _never_ happened." A yoma would kill for encroached territory, but not for beras.

Helen grinned as she snarked. "Not _yet._ So, what's the man look like?"

"Hm." Elizabeth pushed her glasses up as her lips pursed slightly. "About sixteen. Blonde hair, blue eyes. Had marks on his cheeks... A little taller than me." Her eyes narrowed in thought. "Wore a cloak over black pants, and a tan shirt. A...leather sheathe on his hip."

Helen and Deneve's eyes met again, this time in shock. There was no way, right? "Did he have a name?"

"Naruto Uzumaki. Again, I apologize for taking your time, and for having you go so far out of the way."

Deneve and Helen stared at the woman, without batting an eyelash. They crossed paths with a yoma executioner? A human no less?

The two had the same thought at the exact time.

Their handler would be interested in finding that out.

"I don't have to pa-pay you, right?" Had she had to, she wouldn't have paid the boy.

"No. You only pay us if we do the job." Deneve spoke smoothly, even though her thoughts were a little jilted. The two left side by side.

Helen shook her head when they made it to the outside. "I can't believe we were undercut by the brat!" She lifted her head up to Deneve, a wide, lop sided grin on her face. "I feel like sparring with him, just to show the difference in power. You think we should run him down and warn him 'bout the field he chose?"

"No." Deneve shook her head in the negative. "Our handler needs to know immediately what's going on."

"Heh!" Helen laughed into her hand. "Pretty ballsy of the kid to start a mini organization."

"Helen. You don't get it." Deneve was somber in tone. "The boy can sense yoma."

"So?" She shrugged. "He's a descendant, right?"

"A _direct_ descendant. Anything further down the line, and he wouldn't feel their youki."

Helen's head snapped to Deneve. "You don't mean-?"

"The mother or father was a warrior."

The boisterous claymore's head switched forward. "Then he could have been taught how to fight by them."

"And how to control his yoma power."

Helen's eyes shot open. "And awaken!" She turned her head, popped a bera on the marketer's stand, and swiped a few apples. "We got to go!" Then she asked calmly, losing her immediate tone, "Want one, Den'?"

"No. Straight shot."

"Want to race?" Helen grinned, and crunched a piece of the apple free. "Bera to the winner?"

"Make it ten." Deneve's eyes flashed gold.

"Deal." Helen grinned, as her mouth stretched wider, and her lips grew thinner.

Chink.

With the sound of two cracked pavers, they disappeared from sight entirely.

* * *

A man in black stared longingly at the sky above him. His arms were clasped behind the small of his back, scrunching the clerical uniform he was in. His short black hair was combed directly down the center of his scalp, in both directions.

He would have looked normal, had he not had a black doctor's mask on his face.

"He'ren. Dene're. Finished a'ready?" The man had a lisp. His s's, v's, and l's seemed to give him difficulty.

"Guggenheim! We got some information you might be interested in!" Helen barked.

"I ashked a queshtion." Beady black eyes turned over his shoulder, glinting malevolently.

A shiver passed between the duo. "No. Someone else already got 'em."

"No one e'sh' was'sh gi'ren 'dis job."

It took a second for Helen to figure out what he said. "I know no one else was given the job, that's what I wanted to tell you-."

"We. We wanted to tell you." Deneve elbowed her friend. "The chief said that they hired someone before our arrival. Called himself a -what was it again Helen?"

"Surmiser!"

"Surmiser. They killed a yoma, they did it quickly, and killed it before it made a noise."

Guggenheim, their handler, turned the rest of his body around to face them. His eyes spoke of his interest. Perhaps a renegade of their kind? Maybe even Irene, if they were lucky. "Con'chinue."

"They asked for 20 some odd beras, some food and supplies." Helen bit her lip, unsure if they should have found out more.

"An'?"

Deneve stared sharply at their handler. "They were a direct descendant... A male."

Guggenheim didn't say a word. He just stared.

After what felt like forever, he stated. "I shee. 'Shank you for 'ch'er'ring me. Ish' d'ere more?"

"Don't you want his description, Guggenheim-sama?" Helen asked, in a near whisper. He was among if not _the_ cruelest of the teachers at the academy. They hadn't completely forgotten that.

"No. I'rr ashk 'reh bossh. I'rr 'ret you know when 'deh nexsh job ish." His eyes narrowed. "You sheem to know more 'dan you are r'erring on."

"We ran into him. We thought we felt youki come from him, but we verified his stomach didn't have flesh on it."

"An' he didn't." Helen added quickly.

"Did you check hish back?"

Helen's and Deneve's eyes met. "No." They said in unison.

"Rare. Buh' poshibur." The handler murmured to himself. "Go."

They took their leave quickly at the word.

Guggenheim returned his gaze to the blue sky.

Seems that he would have to ask the town head, Elizabeth, every small feature of this...'surmiser'. At which point, he'd speak to Rimuto, and see if Ermita would be needed.

His arms clasped behind his back as he stood stock still.

After which, they would send their yoma bomb out on Sacrionne, and send Deneve and Helen to the Paburo mountain range to meet their...acquaintance.

The only question, is if Rimuto would order the descendant's death, capture, or procurement. Galatea could do any one of those, but would most likely be used to spy on him, and measure his potential first.

Perhaps Rimuto-sama would wish to use the descendant, then execute him and study his body. That's what _he'd_ do, but their head was a little unpredictable on such matters. Priscilla, was one such decision of his, and it backfired. The man thought that she could control her impulses and suppress her awakening through sheer willpower and dedication to the cause.

Not so.

Vuripes and Shinamono, were also such decisions that paid back in spades. A gift Rimuto crafted into priceless treasures.

Vuripes, the first who ate yoma flesh, and obliterated any warrior that proved their worth less than trash. She helped solidify the organization's view to the masses, as something purely antagonistic against yoma. Then Shinamono, the first stealth based warrior. It was a shame she decided to retire in her later years.

And their later...iteration of a stealth being was nothing but trash. But he hoped that eventually such a warrior would be under the organization's thumb in the future. Their potential was worth the study.

Alicia and Beth, were also a decision of Rimuto's. A risk, but one that seemed to be proven effective thus far.

The only inquiry he had, was whether or not this decision that Rimuto made on this descendant, would rank with Priscilla, or the sisters.

* * *

AN:

Tis a wrap! Thanks again to Chrisfragger!

It took longer because plot points were changed halfway through. On another note, it's an interesting feeling to not feel like you're thinking, yet your hands are typing. Hoping God's utilizing me as a typer. :D

**-Review-Replies-**

CJ1of4:

Naruto is a little unique because of his type. I mean, yoma basically have a few properties, they're strong, fast, and they can blend. Never seen that type of Claymore, so...yeah, then Prototype, it was too fun to resist. XD How were you confused? Tried to pm you, but was unable, hope you say in this chapter. Thank you.


	6. Chapter 6

AN:

A hugely special thanks to Chrisfragger for reviewing this chapter before release. He just released (not too long ago, he's a lot faster updater than I am!) His story is in the One Piece verse where Luffy gains his Haki early. It's pretty awesome so far. s/9414103/1/The-Will-of-the-King

Hope you like it, take care, God bless, and praise Jesus! As always, accepting Christ as your Lord and Savior, is as simple as professing with your mouth that He's Lord, and believe that He resurrected from the dead. Faith is all it takes to get to spend eternity with Jesus, here and on the other side. Then read your Bible. It's not necessary for your salvation, however, read it to learn God's promises, because God does keep His promises, sometimes you just have to wrestle with Him a little. If you're looking for a translation, avoid at all costs, Wycliffe, Frontier and Sils. They remove 91 key verses in the Bible (info courtesy Jack Van Impe). I just found out recently that even the NIV supposedly took out 64,000 + words ( ).

To start reading, it depends on where you want to learn. If about Jesus, and who He is, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are great. Keep in mind, Luke for the miracles of which we will do greater, and John for the salvation promises. Romans seems to be Christianity 101. It talks about Baptism, and who we trust in. Christ. All roads point to Him, so keep that in mind when reading the Sacred Text from now on. ;P

Stay cautious, and be safe.

* * *

Gink, gink, gink.

Slanted blue eyes lifted sharply from the stacks of paper, and stared at the door. "Come in."

A roughly six foot tall, mercurial blue eyed, spiky haired blonde stepped through. The boy seemed nervous, awkward even, as he pushed the door aside to allow himself entrance. Three lines were on his left and right cheek, deep gouges that ran from the front of his cheek, to the precipice of his jawline.

"Can I help you?"

It affected the chief to watch the boy shift emotions within seconds. From apprehensively shy, to all business.

"Do you have a yoma problem?" The boy's voice was a little high pitched, still not having reached full maturity.

"And if we did?" What could the boy do against them anyways?

"I can _kill_ it." Had it been anyone else, he would have believed the boy's firm tone.

The chief's hearty chuckles carried out into the hallway, causing the blonde to readjust defiantly. "That's precious." Playing along, he asked patronizingly. "If we do choose you to battle...this yoma." A grin flashed. "How much do you charge?"

"Twenty-five beras, and a resupply." The boy blinked slowly, lazily. Strange, the change the boy underwent. Amusing, for sure.

Shame first impressions were everything.

"That's all well and good, and I'm more than sure our town would be _ecstatic_ to pay you back such a small sum." The chief's grin stretched wide as he tossed brown hair to the side. "But what makes you think you can find them?"

"I'm here, aren't I?"

The chief's eyes widened as he suddenly felt his chest explode, a sword now buried halfway to the hilt. His eyes drifted up from the sword in his heart, to the boy's face.

It was unchanged, though it was flecked with blood. _His_ blood.

The kid had no golden eyes. No veins. No readjusting of his body's shape.

Just...silvery blue eyes, watching him die.

The chief grinned, impressed, even when purple leaked from the corner of his mouth, and his arms hung limply at the sides.

The boy used his right arm and angled it in such a way that he got both his heart, _and_ his spine, preventing him from doing much of anything.

"My name is Naruto. Thank you for your cooperation."

It would be the last memory the yoma carried into hell, as his upper body was split in half, bisecting him from the spine, to his forehead.

Naruto flicked the blood and flesh from his blade, and walked over to the side of the desk, feet splashing in the small puddle.

He growled at the tendril sliding from his shirt, trying to sneak a bite on the yoma, but it retracted slowly when it was noticed by its owner.

Sending up a quick thankful prayer to God for the quick victory, he continued his search.

Looking back towards the drawer, he ripped it open, and noticed a small sack of beras. Flicking through around twenty seven of the sticks, he stuffed them in his pocket, and kicked the drawer shut.

That should be enough for all the things he'd need. Food, clothes, and most importantly.

Marshmallows.

Not necessarily _vital,_ per se, but it brought back good memories. Plus, it had been about a week since he'd last had a fire to sleep next to, at least it would give him an excuse to start one.

Grabbing the yoma by the arm, he dragged it behind him, feet squealing from the purple fluid on the soles of his shoes. They were promptly elongated into a streak as the yoma's corpse ran over the bloody footprints.

Naruto snapped.

"I said _no!"_ He barked at the tendril, trying to escape through his sleeve of his shirt to have a nibble. It turned its head towards Naruto, and he could hear a slightly miserable exhale. _"No."_ He repeated forcefully. "You can have as much as you want, after Vurpies. Just not now, okay?"

It snapped its 'head' around, and retracted without further incident.

Naruto left the building, and tossed the yoma to the side of him, squinting at the meaty splashing sound it made. "Got your yoma, 'ere. I took my payment already if you were wondering." He knew they weren't, but still.

A few eyes turned towards their direction, and immediately grew fearful at the sight of the yoma, and its killer.

Sighing miserably, the blonde 'surmiser' thought it best to leave, and resupply elsewhere. The people seemed scared enough.

He heard from some of the other places he stopped in for the night, there was another town down the road, some thirty or so miles. Obedah, or something like that.

As he turned his face upwards to the sun radiating its heat on his cheeks, he suddenly hated the feel of dried blood. Wiping the mess from his face with his shirt, he continued his pace out of town.

Unfortunately, he hadn't felt tired the past few days, and thus, hadn't run into Red for some training.

Run into. Heh. Made it sound like she could escape him in his mind. Well, then again, probably. He did have enough room to seem like a maze of catacombs.

He perked up when he saw a dark dot in the distance, about a mile or two off.

Both, expanded in a black aura.

His teeth chattered, as one aura was _plainly_ visible, even at their distance. Swallowing, he could tell that her aura was no less than ten times the size of Clare's.

Though, even then, it would be a safe estimate if he doubled that value.

Should he go deeper into the forests to avoid such a person? Or should he continue down the path?

If he could see them at this distance, then they probably could see him as well. Probably.

What would be more suspicious, walking as if there was nothing wrong, or leaving to go into the forest?

**'Calm down, sweetness. Lest they feel your aura ****_grow. _****Hmmhmhm.'**

"Vuripes." He hissed below his breath.

**'Oh, you must tell me what gave it away, dearest? Was it my voice or my voice of warning? I truly am the only one that's helpful in your life.'**

He rolled his eyes, and calmed himself down. She was trying to irk him, so his youki would flare. Wasn't she.

"It grated on my nerves. Your voice that is." He grinned lopsidedly, as he placed his arms behind his neck.

**'Oh really? Seems like there ****_is_****something we have in common. Your voice is equally grating. Now, onto something important. You keep denying your body a good meal. Any reason to keep doing so?'**

"No. I suppose not." He lied.

**'****_Naruto._**** I know what you're trying to do. I know what you ****_want_**** to do. But let's put things in perspective. You see the claymore, with the aura that's near making you piss yourself empty?'**

He didn't reply. The way she asked that, was way too cocky for comfort.

**'My aura, was no less than seventy times ****_that._****'**

His step almost hitched.

"So?" His voice cracked nervously. That was impossible, right?

**'Playing like you have balls. Cute. You'll be fun to torment when I take over. Unless of course, you do as I say from now on. If you still don't believe me, my youki is S+ ranked. I was ****_the_****number one warrior of the organization up to that point. What I just gave you was a conservative estimate.'**

"I thought you wanted to kill me after last time?" Naruto swallowed nervously.

**'I'm not immune to a soft heart...baby doll. I can forgive. I can give second chances. Sometimes. Not repeatedly though.'**

That sounded unlikely.

**'So. What do you say, ****_sugar?_**** Just don't resist your impulses. Not hard, right?'**

His mouth worked open and closed. Did he even have a chance? A _shot?_

Not without God. Right?

**'What do you say, hon?'**

Though if she kept that bull up...

"I...need to think about it."

**'What's there to think about? It's ****_impossible_****to resist me.'**

His fists clenched tight. He didn't respond.

**'You can't ****_still_****be thinking about it. You're too ****_weak!_****You couldn't even resist ****_Akemi._****A weak pussy of a yoma. Don't you remember how you failed to protect all those people she killed? Don't you remember your ****_powerlessness_****when she so much as touched you? You might as well consider yourself a slave to me already.'**

His eyes widened, face set in a scowl.

**'Tsch, you think 'Red's' teaching is doing you any good? Tell me Naruto, knowing what you heard that ****_thing_****say about me, does it even ****_sound_****possible to defeat me? A pack of yoma could take you out with the greatest of ease, with me, so much as a flick of a finger, and you'd die. '**

He didn't say another word as he continued his pace, face evening out from his previous scowl.

**'I can take over at any time. All these steps you've been taking against me, are useless! Here I am trying to help you, and you refuse it! Spit on it like it's trash!'**

"Go to hell. Jesus already gave me the victory. You're just a stepping stone to it."

**'****_Excuse_****me, you self righteous ****_prick?_****'** Naruto grinned as he heard the offended lilt to her tone.

"Frankly, I can't wait to see what you taste like. You're probably better than any yoma I've eaten. The wait'll be worth it in the end." He mentally flipped her off. "You're just marinating."

**'You little ****_bastard!_****You dare to so much as ****_think_****that you can defeat me? You're really that cocky!?'**

His ears rang from her loud defiance against him.

"I'm going to run my sword through your heart, and have my tendrils rip you apart. You'll be eaten before I even hit the ground running."

**'...Is that so? We'll see who's victorious in the end. If you believe as you say, then you'll be surprised when I crush your head under my heel. ****_Trash._****'**

"That's a place reserved for you, _dear."_

Vurpies didn't say another word.

When would she just go _away?_

He sighed, and readjusted himself, slipping into a flat expression rather than the terrified, angry, amalgam he was earlier.

Whatever. It'd be a long row to hoe, but he'd kill her eventually. Hopefully sooner rather than later.

He looked at his left wrist, and the small mirror attached to it by twine.

His face and hair were clean. Pulling out the base of his shirt, he checked it for any stains, then around the cuffs of his arm.

They were clean as well. Mostly. Just a couple flecks of blood. But would they notice it? Could they tell by the smell where it originated from?

His tension continued to mount for the next fifteen minutes.

Five hundred feet away.

Sure enough, two were in their warrior garments. No change in their demeanor.

Three hundred feet.

Still no change.

One hundred.

Would he make it? Would there be a problem?

Thirty.

He could start making them out. The one with the smaller aura had vibrant, slicked back yellow hair, a bored expression, pointy ears, and long, thin brows.

Her companion had the face of a china doll, blonde hair with a brownish tint, and icicle protrusions around all the edges.

Ten.

His blue met her large metallic disks. He ducked his head in respect towards the huge aura, then to her companion, just having enough time to pass them shoulder to shoulder. When he was mere feet away, he felt drawn to make a gesture.

Crossing both of his arms around his stomach, and keeping them aligned, he held out three fingers on each hand, index, middle and ring finger.

They passed without incident.

Closing his eyes and exhaling in relief, he rolled his shoulders.

Too _close._

The one with the massive aura, on the other hand, felt worry for her sister in arms that she just passed.

Whenever they were sent on covert operations, it was only obvious that they would neglect their uniform for something a little less obvious. However, to alert other fellow warriors to their presence, they would make a gesture, something along the lines of their signature when in uniform. That way, there was no possibility of being confused for a yoma by...lesser warriors.

At first glance, she thought the traveler was a male, thus a yoma or even worse, an awakened being. The aura felt different than both of those however.

There was of course, the possibility of a descendant, until they showed her their symbol.

She knew the top five warrior's symbols, and for some reason, she thought the symbol the traveling warrior showed belonged to a higher level warrior. Perhaps a number ten?

No.

They were off the books, but always _at_ the organization.

Maybe the forty-eighth? What would she be doing _here_ of all places?

She stopped, then looked behind her. The blonde was already a couple hundred feet away.

"Miria? What's wrong?" Her companion asked.

Said woman blinked, then faced the forward path once more. "Nothing Uremin. Was your generation taught shape shifting?"

"No. Well, small alterations, such as vocal chords and such. Why, captain?"

"I just wondered how she faked the Adam's apple. Did you recognize the symbol at all?"

"Nah." Uremin answered. "I'm still studying up on them. I haven't even gotten to mine yet."

"Last to first, or first to last?" Did she study from 47 to number 1, or vice versa?

"Last to first."

Miria nodded. Then that would make sense. The traveler was probably upper twenties then.

* * *

"Oh-bey-dah." Naruto stared at the sign leading inwards to a pretty sizable city, called Obedah. "What's with all these weird names?" As he walked through the front gates, he was pleased to note that there were no guards stopping him, frisking him, asking for payment, or cutting his hands.

For the first time at an arrival to a city, his jaw dropped.

It was actually...colorful.

The stones were a softer variety, but had some attractive oranges splashed with red. There were banners posted across the city, of a variety of rare colors, such as purple, yellow, red, orange, and blue. Normally, everything was in shades of gray, but the banners alone added vibrancy.

One of the other things, Obedah did different, was that the market entrance was right on the main-street's entrance, rather than deeper in the city.

Eyes drifting from side to side, he noticed the wares were also different compared to what he was used to.

A wide variety of foods. Fresh _wheat_ bread, emerald tinted lettuce, and ruby tomatoes, with a mixture of fruits that he had simply never seen before. He had been used to the basics, such as oranges, meat, beans and barley, but this was something that was enticingly different.

He was also surprised to note, that the standards of shops, such as a blacksmith, or a mason, were actually less common than artists selling their colorful paintings, or wooden string instruments kept safe behind glass.

The people seemed like they were dressed in colors of royalty, and the goods seemed way the heck out of his normal price range. Was this a city of rich people? Did they even have cities like that?

He guessed correctly, that the more ostentatious the district, the closer it was to the governing office.

He popped inside the front door, and immediately was accosted by the male secretary. "Who are you?"

Guards in better armor than the Rabona crew, stood sharply at his sides.

"I'm, uh," his eyes flickered between them, "Naruto."

Beady black eyes stared at him hard. "Are you here to do business, request legislation, identify a persistent problem, buy a home, or ask for directions?"

The blonde scratched behind the crown of his head and squinted. "Business, I guess."

"What kind?"

"It's kinda..." His nose scrunched up as he tried searching for the word. "Sensitive."

"We already have our quota in brothels. Unless you wish to employ gigolos, that is."

Naruto felt like smacking his forehead. "Can I speak to your boss, please?"

"If you wish to be rude to me, my guard's will exile you from town indefinitely. So." The bastard secretary clasped his hands. "Speak up."

The blonde scowled. "I kill yoma. Twenty-five beras and a resupply."

The man chuckled. "In that case." The secretary gestured to the door. "We have no need of your services. We have a claymore on hand at all times and pay for the perk of her provenient preventive protection once a month. We prefer proven professionals to protect our people."

Naruto shrugged. "Alright. Can I ask their name?" Maybe Alicia or Beth worked here, let alone Helen, Deneve or Clare.

"The claymore's?" Naruto nodded. "Carla, number nineteen. She remains at the chief's side at all times, though, she's been temporarily replaced by another. I don't know her name."

Alright, well. No familiar people. "Anything I can do to enjoy myself in this hell-hole?"

"Why yes, for a vagrant such as you, you may find proper pleasure in the garden district. There are brothels and bars nearby for your enjoyment."

The blonde exhaled. "Anything _besides_ that?"

The secretary blinked in surprise. "Why yes. Obedah is known as the finest artistic town on the continent. Do you prefer plays, music, or art?"

"I've never seen nor heard of any of that. Well, besides drawings and such."

The secretary asked airily. "Then which do you enjoy, the tone of birds lulling their chicks to the brink of sleep? Or wish to see the immeasurable depths of humanity portrayed to a perfect peak in performance."

The guy really liked to alliterate his P's.

"I like both, I guess." If he understood the...

Le'ssee if he could do it...

...if he understood the pretentious pretender pontificating his-...

"Then might I suggest a play, per-chance? They also have music during interludes."

Naruto shrugged. "Yeah. Sure."

Pointing towards the door, the secretary gave directions. "It begins at dawn, and I suggest you buy the tickets now, before you check in to one of our fine quarters. It is quite well loved. Quite." The secretary adjusted their glasses, and continued. "The earlier you get your ticket, the better the seating."

"Alright."

"It's to your right as you leave. Even if you have never seen one before, you will recognize the theater in an instant."

"Alright. Thanks." Naruto turned on his heel and waved over his shoulder as he left.

The only reason why he decided on staying the night, was one, curiosity. He had never seen anyone act before, nor had he heard music. His town always held their nose to the grindstone, and worked hard for a living, with very little spent on entertainment. This town seemed just the opposite.

Moreover, he'd be able to sleep pretty hard in a nice bed, and get some good training in with Red before the next job.

His blue eyes shifted forward off the ground, and past the bystanders.

He found the theater. It was _huge._ Bigger than even the cathedral in Rabona.

His slowed gait brought him to the limestone half-steps, leading up to a boxy architectural marvel. The stone was marble, and massive pillars leading up nearly a hundred feet, supported an overhang, shading the entrance. Not liking the fact that he was under tons of stone, he ran quickly to the doorway, thick and dark wooden guards, and was stopped by a woman behind an L shaped wall.

"Are you here to buy tickets for the next play?"

Thankful that at least someone addressed him, the blonde responded. "Yeah, how much?"

"Five beras."

"Five beras!?" Was the shocked reply. _Five beras_ could by him a month's worth of food! "That's insane!"

The older lady shrugged. "We have the finest actors and singers on the continent. You won't find the likes of it anywhere else."

So what? If they couldn't do anything else useful, what the hell good were they?

He sighed and calmed his righteous indignation.

This would be the last time he'd do something like this, and he did have around fifty beras, it wasn't like he'd be out of it any time soon. "Fine. Five sticks." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the purchase price.

Dammit! That secretary was rubbing off on him!

"Thank you." The lady chirped and handed him a small slab of papyrus. "Show this to me when you come through tonight."

He checked both sides.

It was black with white lettering, the overall length and width of the ticket was about the size of his hand. "Sure. Do you know where I can find somewhere cheap to sleep tonight?"

"Garden district. Keep going down this road, it's in the corner of the back wall."

"Thanks." He bowed his head in appreciation, and headed off. Short of the theater, everything else seemed to be there.

About fifteen minute's worth of walk and his eyebrows rose. There was a lush green area, massive trees that hung even higher than most of the buildings nearby. Crimson roses, and pure, crisp tulips were planted in square sections, avoiding only the path he was trodding.

He lifted a hand to a low lying branch, and brushed up against a large, flat leaf, larger than his palm. Turning his gaze towards the tree's trunk, Naruto doubted his arms would even be capable of reaching around it in an embrace.

He continued down the meandering path, and picked up that he was nearing the corner of the wall. A small shack, about two floors high, made of old wood, stood proudly in the junction.

When he got there, he pushed the door open, and stared around the room. Tables. Smell of alcohol, but fairly empty, with only a couple souls, all with comforting blue auras. Right in front of him was a bartender, so he walked to the woman.

"Hello, ma'am. Do you have a room?"

The woman flicked her brown ponytail around a shoulder. "You're in luck, we have just one left. It's a suite for seven beras a night."

Son of a-_!_ He was getting ripped off in this hell-hole. He'd be lucky to drag himself out with his left arm and half a nut by the end of the day. "Fine." Miserably popping beras on the counter, he swiped the proffered key out on the table. "What do I get?"

"A bath, toilet, and bed. A perfect couple's getaway."

Did it look like he even _had_ someone for such a canned response? "Do I get any food?"

"No. That's another bera."

He'd sooner _starve_ then part with another _half_ of a bera, let alone a full one. "A'right then. Do I have a window?"

"Yes, it faces the main portion of the town. We hope you enjoy your stay."

"I'm sure I will." He murmured under his breath as he left for the room upstairs. "I better."

Using the skeleton key to unlock the door, he walked through, and shut the door behind him. Dropping off the omnipresent backpack to the floor, Naruto rolled his shoulders and went towards the bath undressing on his way there.

He had a few hours until sundown, might as well get comfy.

Lighting a small fire under the tub, he started drawing the water. He'd see the play, hear the music, then get back for some good rest and a dinner with his existing supplies. Today was a refresh day, instead of the boring-as-sin 'walking day' he was used to.

When the tub got to the right depth, he undid the twine around his wrist. That would look a little strange if he went to a play with it on.

Tapping the surface of the water, he realized it was about the right temp, and got in, sighing in comfort. This time though, he faced the door. His torso leaving the water, he pulled the sheathe holding his sword, closer as well, and leaned it up against the tub.

He groaned in pleasure.

Finally.

His nose scrunched at the oily residue he left behind on the water's surface.

Then his brows furrowed, as he held his hand in front of his face, then his gaze shifted around the room. Working his eyes opened and closed, he considered the darkening environment, and the subduing of colors as just a figment of his imagination. It was like the world was becoming desaturated...

Tilting his head to the side, he stared out the window. The sun still wasn't visible...

Weird. It even got progressively darker like the sun was setting.

He shrugged, and poured water on himself. Writing it off as a cloud passing overhead, he leaned back and closed his eyes.

Within fifteen minutes of his soak, he heard his door open.

His hand met the handle of his sword within the same second.

"Hello! I just wanted to bring up some food." The clerk from earlier stated. Same aura.

He let go of his sword, relaxed a little, and asked. "I thought I had to pay for that?"

"Someone bought a meal for everyone staying here for the night."

"Who did _that?"_ His brow furrowed, curiosity getting the better of him.

"A lady occupant of the hotel. She's staying in one of the other rooms."

Blinking at the pleasant surprise, he stated. "Thanks, and tell her I said thank you."

"I will."

The door popped open, then closed behind her.

Maybe he could eat while he was in the tub?

Hating to get up, but knowing it would be worth it in the end, he left the tub, dripping wet, and brought the food and drink closer to him. Putting all of it on the sides of the tub, his shivering form climbed back in.

Suspicious, he sniffed the water.

Then repeated for the rest of the dinner. A thick slab of juicy meat, and flavored vegetables he never had before. Taking a nibble of the meat and vegetables, he thought it tasted normal. And upon a sip of the water, he noticed it tasted a little sour, but not the metallic flavor of his older town. In fact, it tasted only a little less cleaner.

Deciding it was safe, he gave all of it a blessing, thanksgiving, then began his meal in earnest.

Upon finishing both the bath and his food, he stepped out, dried up, and brought his clothes to the tub. Shaking them in the water vigorously, he rubbed and scraped it on the side of the tub viciously to get the grime off. When it got to his specs, he wrung out the clothes, took out an s-hook, and hung up his clothes on the curtain.

It should be dry by the time he came back.

Pulling out his spare clothes from his bag, he tossed them on the bed. Underwear, and socks, loose black cotton pants, and a white short sleeve shirt. Blinking twice, he realized that the colors got back to normal. No more... de-saturation of everything.

His eyes tracked from side to side.

But the auras of everyone around him disappeared. Maybe they left when he didn't notice?

Getting in his bed for the night, he decided on a quick nap.

He fell asleep nearly the moment he laid his head down.

* * *

"Naruto-san." Someone shook his shoulders. "Naruto-san."

"Huh! Whu-." Blue eyes snapping open, he checked around the room, and only noticed the female clerk above him. Why did-? Oh. Right. The play. "Thanks."

He was about to strap his sword to his side, when the clerk said. "They don't allow swords in the theater."

That was...an odd rule.

"Alright." He set it on the bed, and headed off.

Then he snapped around, to check twice. Why the hell couldn't he see her aura?

Was Red testing his sensing capacity so he wouldn't rely on it so much? So he'd have to be better with his other perceptions? Is that why he didn't dream of Red while he slept? Or was Vuripes being a P.I.A again?

He scratched his cheek.

Man he couldn't wait to eat her, if only to stop this absolutely endless BS. Maybe she'd be useful then? As a subconscious? If not, it sounded like he could just erase that troublesome memory.

Placing his room key, in his chest pocket, he headed downstairs towards the lobby, leading the clerk. As his foot touched the bottom of the steps, he checked around for any threats. He sniffed the air, to see if he could scent a yoma.

Not that he'd know its odor.

He should have paid more attention to it.

Halfway towards the front door, he flinched as it was already opening. He'd been too used to seeing people before they did things, and it caught him off guard without that crutch.

Rather than stopping, he continued forward, eyes locked on the floor pensively, and was almost at the door when it fully opened.

Was it Red, or Vuripes that was screwing with his aura sensing? Probably not Vuripes, because she couldn't affect it before.

His shoulder jerked backwards as he collided with the newcomer's elbow, and he only registered the connection when he felt a hand pat his torso in apology. "Sorry. Wasn't payin' attention." He murmured, not having noticed the deft and dainty hand that slipped in and out of his chest pocket while patting him soothingly.

"I apologize. 'Twas my error." The utterly feminine and worldly tone drew his attention immediately.

His eyes slid to the side to measure her out for a potential shapeshift later. The first thing he noticed, was the woman's height. She was at least a full head, to head and a half taller than him. In fact, he would have likened her to an amazon. Slender, yet athletic, in addition to her overall build, would lend to the comparison.

As she trailed forward, her hip length, silvery blonde hair trailed behind her. Naruto had to turn his head to continue his assessment. She was wearing a simple, armless, and unwrinkled black dress, with a slit down the side from knee to ankle, revealing paler, smooth skin.

He continued his slow pace, and kept his measuring gaze on her, when she turned her head slightly over her shoulder, only revealing red lips, and the devil in her solely visible green eye. There wasn't much else about her that he could see...

The lady's lips quirked in a slight smile when he returned his focus in a forwardly direction.

And smacked face first with the lodge's door.

At the moment of the head-butt, pain rushed to his nose, red to his cheeks, heat to his ears, and added embarrassment to his overall misery.

Hurrying out the door, he couldn't help but feel like an idiot at that moment in time and remained feeling that way until he arrived at the theater. The dull throb in his face reminding him of his stupidity, he flashed the ticket at the counter.

Allowed entrance, he quickened his pace in the theater proper, and made his way to a corner in the back of the room.

He didn't know if the demons he killed, had any friends. If so, Naruto had made more than a few enemies. Keeping everyone in his focal point at all times, would be the safest course of action.

Especially without his sword.

Clearing his throat, he huddled closer to the corner while sitting on his stone chair. He rubbed the outer part of his arms to warm himself up through friction.

Eyes shifting around the theater, he took in the architecturally interesting design. There were torches near the wall, one by where he was seated, twenty feet away, so on, so forth. Potential weapon against yoma? Did they even get affected by fire?

Filing that away for a future idea, he continued his assessment.

The seating was arranged in such a way, that from his position, to the stage, everything was angled at a perfect diagonal line. From the highest position where he was, to the lowest where the stage was.

All along the line, were small juts out from the floor, allowing for semi-comfortable seating.

Naruto yawned, and rested the side of his head against the stone wall to his right. As he waited, the theater slowly but surely filled up for about ten minutes, when a flood of people entered in around the last five minutes.

Just about every seat was filled. He almost regretted his choice in seating when he had to stare above a sea of heads, just to watch a velour curtain flutter lightly.

"Excuse me."

He perked up and turned his eyes to his left at the newcomer, then Naruto flicked his gaze back to the stage. It was just someone trying to find seating.

Or was it?

His eyes flickered to the left again, then back forward, when the lady sat next to him.

Disguising a sniff with a faked yawn, he verified she smelled human. Kind of like Clare and Raki did at least.

After about a minute and no movement was seen on stage, he checked his environment using his peripheral vision, but specifically the person next to him. When he saw the black dress with a slit down the side, he realized it must have been the woman at the travel lodge that he bumped into.

She currently had her left leg crossed over her right knee, and rested it slightly.

The lady was wearing new leather sandals.

Trying for small talk, Naruto didn't turn towards her when he addressed her, but instead tilted his head to the left. "You a messenger, miss?"

"Hm? No. Why?" The worldly tone was more reserved.

"No reason. Jus' a guess." He shrugged nonchalantly.

He could see from the side that she had callouses on her feet, much like his. Thick, browned, cracked, and scaly.

"Oh." Upon realization of what he saw, she lowered her foot next to her other, and kept them flat on the floor. "I apologize. I don't always have time for moisturizing with tallow."

"I didn't mean to bring it up to make you feel bad, miss. Please get comfortable." He kept his eyes closed as he turned his head to face her. "Just wondered what you do for a living."

When his eyes met her face, his eyebrows rose slightly. She was pretty.

She had two long bangs framing her face, accentuating her smooth facial features, red lips, and emerald green eyes.

She stared back at him, eyes never losing their amused air. "I'm a weapons dealer. Yourself?"

Naruto lifted his hand out to shake hers, causing her to visibly suppress her grin. "I'm Naruto. A surmiser. I uh. Kill yoma, I guess."

"You _guess_?" She quirked a long and thin brow. "How can you _guess_ at killing yoma?"

"Yeah, true enough." He chuckled lightly. "Haven't found anything else to do yet."

"Do you want to do something else?" He wondered why she wasn't shocked that he was even _capable_ of killing yoma. Most humans were flabbergasted.

"Not really. Nothing else really piqued my curiosity." Although, was she offering him a job as a weapons dealer?

"Are you successful at what you do?" She asked, interestedly.

Naruto nodded quickly. "Not as much as the angels, er, 'claymores,'" he added air-quotes, "as you probably know them."

"I see." She placed an index finger to her lips as her eyes drifted towards the ceiling. "You're a more economical solution to the yoma problem?"

His brows racked as he translated her statement mentally. "Yeah. I try and help towns that can't hire out help."

"That's noble of you." The lady nodded.

"Not trying for noble, miss." His cheeks reddened at the compliment. "Have you run into any towns with a yoma problem that they couldn't afford?"

"No. I'm afraid not." She tilted her head slightly, a small smile played on her lips. "Just be aware of voracious eaters, as they are oft a problem as well."

"I see." Naruto scratched the side of his leg.

Those awakened things?

"What brings you here?" Her eyes were half lidded now.

All of a sudden, Naruto felt a little winded. Like he missed his nap. "Just ah," he yawned, "just checking out to see if they need help with yoma."

"Did they?" Her tone was almost patronizing.

"Nah. They already hire out the, um... The claymore." He had to think about what he was saying now.

"Then this is a pretty safe town?" She turned her head, showing he had her full attention. He almost shuddered. It looked like she was trying to burn him with her eyes.

"I guess. Seems pretty different compared to what I'm used to." His head rocked back and forth, as did his feet scuffed the floor. "It's colorful."

"If I may, what are you used to?" She leaned her cheek on a hand, elbow resting on her knee.

"Little town called Egon. I wouldn't even know how to get there from here." He was feeling oddly talkative. She seemed like an easy going person. Trustworthy even.

"You have to cross a desert, correct?" Her slight grin kept him at ease.

"Ugh! Don't remind me! Almost starved to death there."

"Really?" Her eyes lit up, as they narrowed a little more, though not angrily.

He continued fondly without further demand. "Yeah, Clare and Raki saved my life. They gave me food, water and companionship. Clare was actually a claymore as well. Pretty cool those two."

"Oh? Are they here in town?"

Too bad she couldn't meet them. "Nah." He looked down and focused past what his gaze actually landed on. "It's a long story." A nervous grin hid his reasoning

Bringing both her knees up, the lady responded. "If they take much longer, you could tell it in full."

"Heh! Yeah, I guess. Five beras, and a ten hour wait later, hm?" He shrugged, then figured there wouldn't be much harm in telling her. "Long story short, I had to leave."

"Why?"

"Not because of what they did, just what I-."

He stopped mid-sentence, and his eyes narrowed a little. He had been about ready to tell her too much info there.

"You don't have to tell me, Naruto." Was her pleasant, understanding reply.

He settled on a half truth. "I guess I needed space."

"To find yourself?"

"Yeah, something like that." He acquiesced. "How about you? What made you choose your line of work?"

"I saw a need, and I provided the means of attaining it." She countered smoothly, obviously having been asked that before.

"Hm. Any family waiting for ya'? Husband...kids...parents, that kind of thing?"

She shook her head. "I'm afraid not. Those graces were taken from me long ago."

The blonde teen's eyes grew distant. "A yoma?"

Quirking a brow, she smiled lightly, though it held a tint of pain. "No. Surprisingly. My parents were killed in a war between, us, humans. My children and husband were killed by bandits," she shook her head, "by the same weapons I sold."

His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Then why stay in the same job you're in?"

"I thought of that at first." She tilted her head to the side, in admittance. "But even though they killed my family, the town was able to put them down before the bandits were able to burn it to the ground. They weren't defenseless and their blood was avenged. By the same weapons I sold as well." Her mouth opened then closed. She swallowed painfully, eyes adrift over the crowd in front of her. "It's...bittersweet I suppose."

Naruto turned to face the stage as the curtains opened slightly. "I don't know if I could do what you do."

"Oh? Why not?"

"I don't know if I could help kill humans, good or bad." He conspicuously looked away. He couldn't. He already came close to doing it once, he wanted to keep it to that one incident.

"You're saying you couldn't kill a human if it was necessary?"

He spoke firmly. "I'm saying that."

"And if they were going to kill a child?"

His breath hitched.

What would he do in that point of time? He would stop them, but not kill them right? That was possible. Probable even. He just had to avoid vitals was all.

"I'd stop them, but not kill them."

"I see. What if they were politically powerful, and a mere order could order the deaths of thousands? Would you still be complacent?" When he opened his mouth to respond, she countered. "Even if you cut off his hands and tongue, they are still human. They would still bleed to death."

"I...I..." His brows knit together uncomfortably.

Could he? Could he kill a human?

"...Don't know."

When was '_essential'_ even known?

"Fair enough." Her green eyes shifted to the front. "The play is starting."

Focusing back towards the front, he sought to forget any philosophical debate in his mind. Smiling slightly, he leaned forward in his chair.

He took a deep, open mouthed breath, and scratched the back of his head. He was feeling pretty hot. Repeating the gesture, he took off his cloak, and coughed.

"Do you know what this play is about?" She asked, watching him adjust.

"No idea." He replied in a clipped manner, hating his discomfort. Really, he was hating everything at the moment for reasons unknown.

"Oh." The lady smiled lightly, closed her eyes and leaned back, crossing her hands over her stomach. "You'll like it, I'm sure."

For some reason, he thought there was a dark undertone.

Turning his blue eyes from her, he refocused up towards the front.

There were three people on stage, with a warm, homey background. A kitchen. He worked his jaw trying to understand what they were saying. He could hear words...but they didn't sound right.

"We _did_ choose the nosebleed section."

"Huh? They're actually saying stuff?"

"Sure." She nodded once. "In the eastern language. You can't understand it?"

"Son o-!" He barked under his breath. "I can only speak one, the lower of the two languages."

"I see. I can translate a little, if you want?"

"That's awesome, thanks! Didn't want to waste my money." Several heads in the row in front of him turned to glare at him for making noise. "Sorry."

The woman continued, though, in a lower tone. "Though, I wonder if I should. The finest reviewers of acting, say that you should be able to figure out the content by actions alone."

Naruto sighed and leaned back in his chair, stuffing his cloak under his bottom. "Whatever. What's the point if you can't understand what they're saying?"

"What I said is what the more... polished reviewers state, though, for the commoner, I'm sure it would seem impractical."

He snorted. Commoner. It certainly was a compliment, even if she didn't mean it that way.

Staring at the three actors gesticulating wildly, yelling at each other, and pointing at one another. They seemed panicked about something. The crowd gasped in astonishment.

His eyelids drooped as he leaned against the wall and watched on.

Why the hell was he even here?

The three people, the female, and two males were still bickering between each other over no apparent reason. Walking across the stage, throwing items off the kitchen shelves, searching for something. Generally being pains in the asses. _Someone_ would have to clean up after them.

His eyebrows rose when all three grabbed a kitchen knife and calmly formed a circle, putting the small weapons tip to tip, whispering something with firm assertion. Their gazes shifted between each other, locking onto each other at small intervals.

The curtains closed.

"Was that it?" Naruto asked his fellow play watcher.

"No. This is an interval. They'll be back, but the setting will change."

"What was that all about?"

The lady smiled contentedly, and asked. "What do you think?"

"I'd say that a family is having an argument? Or a friend is arguing with a married couple."

"Very good. It's closer to the former. And?" She lead on there was something greater going on.

"They were looking for something?"

"What?"

"Something in the kitchen. Spices, food, something like that."

"Money."

"Money? Why?"

"To buy a better weapon."

His eyes narrowed with suspicion as he stared into her green eyes. "Did you write this thing?"

She tittered for a moment, then responded. "No. It's simply ironic. Nothing more."

"No such thing." He murmured to himself. "To buy a weapon... Against an enemy then. Like a bad guy."

She rocked her head back and forth. "Close." The curtains parted, revealing cutouts of a city scape. "You'll see."

Naruto felt heat build to his face, and the itch running down his spine becoming more frequent.

"Are you feeling okay?" The blonde weapons dealer next to him asked.

"Yeah." He tilted his head back and forth until he felt a tendon pop.

The same three people were walking down the set's 'street', looking back and forth rapidly, and sticking close together. They collectively jumped when they were addressed by another person off the set, who walked onto the visible stage.

The back of his head hit the wall behind him as he stared half-heartedly at the play. This was boring as sin, while roasting on a spit in hell. But dammit, he spent the five beras, he'd be here with fricken bells on and stay until it was done.

But this was his last time in this hell hole, that was for damn sure.

Watching him closely, the woman's eyes slid to the front only on rare occasion.

He didn't notice.

The morons on stage barked back towards each other, whispering in their clique, and pointed at random stage pedestrians, indicating some boring conspiracy was afoot.

The curtains closed.

"'Nother innerval?"

"Interval." She corrected kindly.

Working his jaw, he shook his back like a wet dog. "Do they really like to prolong the pain?"

She sniffed lightly, amused. "Occasionally. You lucked out though, there will be several plays tonight."

"You call this lucking out?" He asked disbelievingly. "I don't know if I'm gonna make it."

"Oh come now." She shoved him by the chest and shoulder to the side. "It isn't _that_ bad."

Naruto missed the fact that his key was returned to its original place in his pocket.

He fidgeted with himself, he still felt that heat, itch, and now it inexplicably compounded with a rising rage.

"Do you want a drink or snack?"

"Huh?" He had a tough time hearing her, due to his ringing ears.

"Do you want a drink, or a snack?" She repeated a little louder.

"No." He said sharply, then repeated softer. "No. Thank you though." Something clicked. "Are you the one who bought food for all the people at the hotel earlier?"

She paused, then turned her head to him, measuring his question. "Yes?"

"I wanted to say thanks. It hit the spot and was completely unexpected." He ducked his head in respect. "Thank you."

"Think nothing of it." She stared at him for a moment before returning her narrowed gaze forward towards the boring play.

The curtains opened, revealing a dark set, and a 'stony' background, indicating a basement. The three actors discussed something between each other. Then they went several directions, one male off the right of the set, the female stayed in the center, while the other male went off the stage on the left.

The female was the only one looking both ways, left in the dark.

For some reason, Naruto thought something bad was going to happen, especially when the crowd's murmuring increased.

Shifting his eyes to the side, he stared at the lady next to him. A shiver rolled down his back at her overly pleased expression, even though she was simply resting her head on the wall behind her. She wasn't even _looking_ at the play.

What the hell was going on?

When he heard a few gasps in the crowd, Naruto's eyes focused forward. When he finally processed what he saw, he hopped to his feet, grasping for a sword that wasn't there.

"Dammit!" He barked, eyes wide and alight with nervousness and fear at the creature in full form. No! It couldn't be!

"Yoma!" He screamed loudly, causing some of the crowd to twitch. _"Yoma!"_ He pointed and repeated his bellow with more fervor, stepping on the patron in front of him to try and get a better launch pad to get to it.

He'd beat it to death, or at least buy some time for the paid claymore to get there.

He single-mindedly tried to make his way to it, to prevent it from devouring the poor lady on stage.

But before he could use the man's shoulders to leap from, he felt a strong hand rip him back and off balance, causing him to stumble.

Snapping sharp silver eyes in her direction, he looked at her, wondering what was going on. Was she a yoma as well?

Analyzing her attractive face showed no vein popping to the surface, or wrinkle marring her skin. "Wha-?"

"It's not a real yoma." Was the monotone reply. "Relax." When she caught his gaze, a shiver rolled down his spine at her near malevolent fascination.

"How do you know?!" He demanded, and pointed angrily at the creature hulking closer to the lady.

"That's what this play is about." She gave a slight smirk. "I thought you were supposed to be good at your job. Couldn't you tell it wasn't a real yoma?"

He cringed and ducked his head. They wouldn't show it eating her guts on stage, would they?

She got his attention when she calmly asserted herself. "Hm?"

Seeing no harm in it, he explained. "I can normally 'see'," he gave air quotes, "their aura. I can't see anyone's aura right now." Man, he felt like he just drank Helen's moonshine again.

"You can see auras?" Her green eyes widened with surprise.

"Yeah. Can kinda feel 'em too. Not like an S-ranked sensor, but enough to get out of the way." He apologized to the man in front of him, and explained himself a little. Then Naruto sat back in his seat, eyes back on the play.

His iris wound as his pupils tightened.

The yoma was straddling the woman.

Almost immediately, Naruto's throat burned as he turned away, eyes clenched shut.

"Does it remind you of something?" The weapons dealer asked.

Face upon face slammed itself into his mind, even as he wrenched his ears shut with his fingers to block the wet sounding, slop-eating. Memories and tears broke through the corners of his eyes as he rocked back and forth, sobbing, apologizing to them and to God. "I'm sorry."

"Was it your father?" Was the murmured inquiry.

He continued rocking back and forth, trying his damnedest to block out all noise. His skin prickled, hairs raising on the back of his neck.

"Or your mother?"

Akemi's bloodied face flashed in his mind. Why didn't he fucking stop her?!

He sobbed harder.

"Did she eat your friends?" Her voice seemed crystal clear, but why, even with his ears blocked?

He saw Isabelle's proud, and much younger grin. _"An angel!"_

Akemi's awed one as he sent his first punch towards her. _"Claymore."_

Matilda's scared expression. _"Y-yoma!"_

He could see himself kneeling next to his-. No. Their first victim. He could still feel the ambassador's cooling hand as the young man was being devoured.

"I'm sorry." He whispered. Not to her that sat next to him, but to the ones in his mind.

"You can't get over the sounds of their deaths, can you?" Her voice became clearer, and accused his very soul.

"_I'm sorry_!" He blurted, hearing the sounds of their deaths, the very tone of their guts being devoured, reverberating in their mind. He tried to save them! He did! "I-."

He did. Right? He didn't eat them!

"I'm sorry..." He murmured tearfully as he felt a soothing hand rub his back. His hands held the sides of his head. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sure they forgive you, Naruto."

Wide blue eyes snapped to the weapons dealer rubbing his back. "Hu-wh-what?"

"The people you couldn't save. I'm sure they forgive you." She sent him a comforting smile, causing him to turn and blush in embarrassment. "Now stop apologizing. Watch the play."

He turned his head up in time to see one of the woman's other companion's, the one that went left, come back with a sword in hand to slay the demon.

He grinned malevolently as the fake sword struck the creature repeatedly.

"I'm gonna enjoy eating every single one of you bastards one day." He whispered, imperceptible to the normal ear.

The woman next to him twitched.

The curtains closed, causing Naruto to lean back in his chair, avoiding the pitiful stares sent his way by the people surrounding him.

He shouldn't have been so loud in his apologies. Why the hell did that even happen anyway?

Perking up when the curtains opened again, there was a lone woman on the stage, a wooden crate in front of her.

"Hello everyone, I hope you enjoyed the play." Silvery blonde hair came down in a smooth sheet around her. That was her single defining trait, besides of course, the armor he'd recognize anywhere.

Naruto whispered to himself. "Claymore?"

"You may know me as Carla, I'm the script writer of this play." Her hands folded together as she seemingly addressed the room as a whole. "I hope this work has touched your heart strings, and informed you about life beyond these walls."

She inhaled and continued. "I'm known to you as a claymore. These are the stories of my sisters everywhere, as well as town folks in areas less blessed than Obedah. Unfortunately, most towns can't afford twenty-four/seven protection from my sisters in arms, and typically lose people precious to them before they can hire us out. Sometimes it takes months, after dozens of people are eaten."

"Sisters. Brothers. Mothers, fathers. All of them can be their enemies. All of them can be the victims of yoma. But one thing is for sure." Her expression tightened. "No one can be trusted. Ever. No one can love freely, and absolutely none can sleep soundlessly at night."

She seemingly stared in Naruto's direction. "Many times, there are towns that can't even afford the simple check and elimination of the yoma threat. Their townspeople are often devoured, and entire cities are left a ghost town after a few short months."

"I'm sorry for being so long winded, but I'm telling you all this to beg for your assistance." Her silver eyes met as many human eyes as they could, lingering for mere seconds. "I'm accepting donations to offer towns that can't afford it, a free check from my kind. It's a small gesture that shows your generosity and kindness to all on this continent, so that one day, the yoma threat may be ended once and for all."

She smiled lightly. "For friends to trust again. And better yet, for families to love again." She bowed lightly, armor dipping lower. "Thank you for your time, and for anyone wanting to donate, you can do so in this box on the floor in front of me."

The room was dead silent.

Naruto's eyes trailed across the room.

His brows furrowed. No one?

He swallowed. Not even one human would...would give to save another town? Not even a bera?

Standing up sharply, Naruto stalked past the people surrounding him, and stomped down the center aisle. He could just about feel every eye laying on his neck. He took a lone bera out of his bag and stuffed it in his pocket, when he threw the rest in the box at Carla's feet.

"That's forty-some odd beras. How many checks will that get?"

She sent him a thankful smile. "That will buy one third of a simple check."

His eyes sank low as he reached in his pocket and threw the only bera he had left, in the box. "Thanks."

Carla smiled at him kindly. "Don't worry, the organization will add on double whatever is donated."

He smiled in relief, eyes closed. "So someone will get a check?"

"Yes."

"They might regret such an offer, warrior." A huge bag of beras sank into the box, leaving Naruto in awe of the donor.

The weapons dealer!

"Thank you sister!" Carla exclaimed brightly. "How much is that?"

"Nine hundred beras."

Naruto choked on his own spittle when he heard the amount. When he checked behind him, nearly everyone was lined up, ready to give what they wanted.

He grinned as he walked back to his seat next to the weapons dealer. He turned to her and said, "I think you know my name, but I forgot to ask yours." He leaned forward to hear her better.

"Oh? You want to know my name?"

"Yeah!"

"Why?"

Naruto's brow furrowed. "Why not?"

A slender blonde brow rose. "You're not trying to charm me, are you? I'm not _that_ rich."

"Nah!" She probably was in her late twenties anyways. He had to look up to see her face, and she stood at least half a foot taller than him... Not to mention, she seemed well established, versus his impromptu lifestyle.

He regained his composure. "I just wanna know your name. It's polite, right?"

Her eyes narrowed with amusement. "Very well, Naruto." She shook his hand in a business like manner. "My name is Galatea."

* * *

Galatea watched Naruto's silvery head bob as he walked mere feet in front of her. She knew everything she needed to know about him. She even 'saw' it with her own mind's eye, when either he or she said a specific word.

A word such as 'eat'.

A rare being, this one.

Three quarter yoma. More monster than man.

He turned his head to make sure she was still paying attention as he spoke quickly about his experience with his last yoma hunt.

She smiled lightly, and nodded, urging him on, though not hearing a word.

Three quarter yoma who was able to physically consume his prey and even _take their form_. For some reason, he prevented his body from continuing to do so, perhaps, to seem normal to others.

Or even normal to himself.

His friends and family more or less disowned him, and his town wanted his life expiated. In his formative years, he was noticed by a handler, _Rubel,_ she was careful to note. And the handler _knew._ He _knew_ about it, and also _knew_ about the yoma that captured Naruto. Yet, he did nothing either for or against him. Did the organization know about Naruto from all those years back? If so, why act now?

And Rafaela, bless her heart, wanted to do _something_, but loyally followed orders from her supposed superior.

Yet what did their inaction create in this boy?

She 'saw' his connection to Raki, and her sister in arms, Clare, number forty-seven. He seemed pleasant, like he was overcoming. Yet he struggled with his own soul every step of the way. He was at war and it would be all too soon, that he would lose to his own flesh and blood.

Their inaction created a monster. A monster that wanted to be unleashed upon the yoma. A monster that took every ounce of his willpower to suppress.

She gripped a slender blade strapped to her upper thigh.

The organization would undoubtedly want to know about the boy. They would want to know _everything_ about him, from the length of his toenails, to how he limped a little when he stepped with his right leg, perhaps out of habit to be unassuming.

They would want to know how he was raised by a yoma, and forced to do evil.

This child would be manipulated all of his days, worse than even how Akemi played with him. They wanted leverage and she would have to provide it, lest she wished to be a head shorter than her current stature.

How he survived to this point, she didn't know.

The two entered a quieter section of town. Not a soul was in front or behind.

But it would be merciful to put him down, for Naruto's own sake. He would have the organization on his tail all the days of his life, and all of his shortcomings in front of him till his last breath. If he was _unlucky_, they would keep him alive while they experimented. That didn't even factor in when and if he awakened.

She pulled the knife out of her sheathe, and held the tip at the base of his skull. It parted his blonde locks, and she had to pull away slightly as he tried to brush away an imaginary gnat.

He was more monster than human. If he awakened...when he awakened, how many humans would he take with him to his grave? How many more regrets would lie upon his soul before she was sent to take it?

If she followed through, Galatea could tell her boss, Ermita, that she killed him because of the yoma flesh on his back. She wouldn't be killed for doing so, and they could study his body without disturbing him.

Her hands shook, her will to do such an action quickly fleeting.

It was tantamount to murdering a human. A human _child_ no less.

But if she didn't kill him, he'd suffer. If she _did_ kill him, _she'd_ suffer.

Though, she supposed she would either choice.

She could slit his throat, or impale his brain at the stem or temples.

The tip pressed against the bone at the base of his skull.

The stem would be quicker.

She re-sheathed her blade, just in time, as Naruto turned around.

"Thanks for everything tonight, Galatea-san!" He exclaimed in a peppy manner. "You're an awesome person." He tilted his head, and blushed, before grabbing her in an embrace. "Thanks for your understanding! It helped out a lot."

As he squeezed her, she returned the embrace, having to swallow to keep herself stable. "It is... no issue."

He pulled away, wide grin on face. "I hope to see you again some day! Sweet dreams and God bless!" He waved to her and ran to the door of the lodging complex to open the door for her.

She sighed as she walked through the propped open door, wondering if she would regret letting him live in the long run, over simply executing him now.

Galatea felt her eyes dry as they turned silver, and her guts burn while she walked up the steps and into her room, shutting the door gently behind her.

Before she left for the play, she already checked Naruto's room and the boy's belongings were fairly innocuous.

Save the sword forged from the blood of an awakened being.

The only question she had and one that she wouldn't present to the organization, is just where he got the blood of an abyssal one.

When she felt Naruto go to his room, and head for the bed, she took her own belongings, and dressed in her specialty armor.

She had to report to Ermita as soon as possible for a meeting with the council.

* * *

"Galatea. What do you have to report about Guggenheim's findings." Rimuto, the head of the organization she worked for, asked.

He had a veiny scalp, warring for dominance of his skull with a small, sharp faction of slicked back black hair.

There were six men sitting on both sides of him, adding up to an unlucky 13.

If she lied, she would be executed. If she told the truth, she didn't know the boy's future.

But if she played it right? It would be interesting.

Galatea bowed, hand on her stomach. "The boy is very close minded. I couldn't get much of a handle on his personality, his technique, or his capacity."

"Galatea." Rubel, she was pleased to note, scowled as he paced towards her. "I'm sure you got more than what you're saying about the kid. In fact, I'm _positive_ that you know he is a descendant in full control of his abilities."

"And I'm sure you're speaking solely from what you heard from Guggenheim?" Galatea's silver eyes slid cockily in his direction.

"Watch your tone with your superiors." Rubel bit back.

Rimuto's fingers tapped together. "I assume Rubel is correct in his assessment of your lacking information." He tilted his head to the side in a leading manner. "Which begs the question of why you seem to be set on insubordination. Perhaps, even set on turning traitor to us." He waved his hands, causing guards to raise their spears in her direction.

Pfft. If she wanted to take them all out, she could.

As long as number ten held off long enough.

Though, she would be a perfect counter to number ten.

But she preferred keeping her hands clean as much as possible.

She bowed deeply. "I apologize, Rimuto-sama, I simply wished not to be caught in between a conspiracy with information I'm not privy to. I meant no disobedience, rather, the utmost in obedience."

Heads were going to roll...

The head of the council was confused. "Explain."

...Just not hers.

"I thought you _knew_ the boy was more yoma than human."

Rubel shifted on his feet. She couldn't have seen that much, right?

"In whah' way?" Guggenheim hissed from Rimuto's immediate right.

"He's above us by a quarter."

She almost chuckled when the council gasped in shock.

Rimuto held up a hand, leaned forward, and demanded darkly. "Explain."

She feigned ignorance. "Rubel didn't tell you?"

All eyes settled on the handler.

Guggenheim's eyes were locked on the man as he lisped. "'Ell ush _whah_?"

Galatea almost sneered at the handler's speech pattern. Monster. He'd be eating someone else's past soon. "He knew several years ago that the boy was a Claymore in control of some of his capabilities. He saw the boy's eyes turn gold."

Rimuto's fingertips tapped together. "Guards." His eyes never left Galatea's. "Execute Rubel for me please. Keep his brain intact."

"Yes!"

Rubel tried to run but didn't get far. Spears ran him through from all sides from men in black regalia. Galatea could cut out his failing screams ever so quickly.

"Proceed with everything Galatea, or I will request such an order for you. Only it will be much, much, slower." Rubel's final gurgle punctuated the boss's request.

She bowed curtly as a pool of blood grew. "Of course Rimuto-sama. The target named Naruto Kamiko, alias, Naruto Uzumaki, grew up in Egon. From what I could gather from Rubel-san before his timely death, it was widely known by the townfolk that he was at least a warrior of our level."

"Which number did he hail from?"

"I'm afraid I don't know."

"Perhapsh, Kushina, numbah sheven. She she'ehled down in a shimilah location. Or another nine member?" Guggenheim proffered.

"Did Kushina retire? And what generation?" Rimuto leaned over towards the handler.

"I ber'ieve da' generation befoah' 'Deresha's."

"The generation before Teresa's? She was one of the nine gifts, correct? Sister to our former number one?"

"Yesh."

"_Fascinating_." Rimuto's eyes lit up with disturbed wonderment. "Continue."

Galatea swallowed and continued sharply. "Rubel and Rafaela were searching for yoma, case in point two-thousand, seven-hundred, and eighty-three, in the Trifecta district."

Rimuto turned to a servant who brought the mentioned document to his leader.

A moment passed, as the scrape of brushing blood off the floor was the only sound emanating in the room.

Rimuto's eyes scanned the document, then he summarized. "They were checking nearby towns for the yoma. Thought to be a pack due to the number of deaths. Instead, they found one yoma elder, but not the other."

"Rafaela wanted to kill the other one, when Rubel told her not to attack for reasons unknown."

"And what happened to this yoma elder?"

"It adopted the boy as a front." Her tone was flat and professional as she explained its purposes.

"The boy, you mean, Naruto?"

"Yes."

"Clever." Rimuto admitted easily. "When did the boy find out?"

"About a year later. He saw the yoma eating a villager from another town."

"Did he do anything?"

"He tried to fight it." She stood straighter, parting her legs slightly to set herself at ease. She closed her eyes and re-imagined the scene. "He failed at first. She beat him into the wall, but he got the upper hand, before she won once more, but through deception."

Had it been anyone else, the evasion would have been successful. "What are you trying to hide, Galatea-chan?"

Her eyes sharpened at the form of address, but responded promptly. "Not trying to hide, so much as being unable to explain it."

"Meaning?"

"Naruto..." She swallowed hard. Would they even believe her? "He can shapeshift quite extensively. Beyond the level of a yoma."

Guggenheim's eyes met Rimuto's and lingered for a moment. "I see." Rimuto went further. "A stealth type."

"A stealth type?" Galatea inquired, having never heard the term before.

Guggenheim on the other hand, was interested at the turn of events. Naruto would make a fine specimen. Living or dead, it didn't matter.

"You will learn more over time, Galatea-san." Rimuto returned. "What is his general personality?"

She replied immediately. "Easily manipulated, too trusting, unobservant, and fractured."

"Fractured?"

She continued without preamble. "He has multiple personalities from all the yoma-." She paused, surprised she went too far in her explanation. She'd have to debrief them completely now. "From all the yoma he's eaten."

"Eaten?" Rimuto's brows rose as his expression darkened. "How?"

"With..." How could she describe it? "Cylindrical projections from his body."

"Dendrilsh." Guggenheim whispered in awe.

Rimuto stared forward, the silence pervading the atmosphere. "He has Vuripes's flesh."

This time, Galatea's eyes were widened. "He has an abyssal one's flesh in him?" She could see the rotting piece of flesh on his back, barely covering his internal organs. It was sloppy work done by amateurs at best, but somehow, the boy lived.

Considering it was the flesh of an abyssal one...that would make sense.

"So it seems." Rimuto grinned. "Your choice in deciding _not_ to kill him, was a good one, number three. Even with our standing orders."

"He didn't fall under the same category. I was unsure of an approved course of action."

"You chose the right course. Now." Rimuto leaned over the table, elbows resting on it. "Any leverage or weaknesses we should know about?"

"'Emudo-shama." Guggenheim interrupted. "Shoul' we shend numbah four to co'rrect his brud?"

It took Rimuto a minute to translate. "No. Not yet." They could send Ophelia to collect his blood some other time. "Galatea?"

* * *

Naruto looked both ways, recognizing the environment. "Red?"

His voice echoed. But there was no response. The throne was empty. "Red?" He repeated, standing right in front of the seat.

When no reply was forthcoming, he decided to sit in the chair and wait on her arrival. As soon as his back touched the back rest, he felt a cool, thin object touch his throat.

He gulped when he realized it was a blade.

"You _always_ pay attention to your surroundings." Red's voice implied that she was exceedingly pleased with herself. "Something that you were lacking today, Naruto-_kun_."

"What are you talking about?" His tone was defiant, moreso than how he felt.

"Well for _starters,_" she growled, blade pressing harder, "you missed several key facts. One, sensory perception of a yoma so you wouldn't make a fool of yourself when you can't see the aura."

His brows narrowed. "I noticed that afterwards."

"Good. Mind telling me anything else you missed?" She lifted the blade from his throat, allowing him to remain seated.

"I don't know of anything else."

"You didn't see or smell anything different at any time?"

Naruto's eyes fell as his face became downcast. "No."

Red sighed and sheathed her sword. "Your belongings were sifted through. Your items were only slightly displaced. Easily unnoticed, though their scent was present."

"Scent?"

She smacked a hand to her face. "Nevermind. Just keep it in mind for the future."

"Anything else I missed?"

"Besides getting your key nicked by a claymore, _twice_. Like some easy mark." Red bit back aggressively, then evened her tone. "Not really."

"What!?" Naruto blurted. "I got pick pocketed?"

"Not once, but twice! Such great instincts!" Red mocked happily. "It's like you can't feel anything."

Naruto remained quiet in the midst of the verbal onslaught. "By who?"

She narrowed her eyes and evaded. "I suppose you still are using your hormones to think for you, rather than your brain. To be expected of one your age I suppose." Red crouched down, the balls of her feet the only things touching the floor. "Now. You're in my seat."

"Oh!" The teen jumped out of the throne like it was burning him. "Sorry."

"Hm." Red dropped in it and exhaled comfortably. "I suppose I'll accept your most heartfelt apology." Her tone seemed particularly 'musing'. "Today I will teach you some important combat concepts and precepts. Namely, in open combat, and facing multiple enemies." Her eyes narrowed as she grinned. "And targeting specific individuals when faced by a numerically superior force."

"Why would that be important?" Naruto dropped to the floor and brought his legs in closer.

"Simple." Red leaned onto her right hand as she stared at him with half lidded eyes. "Suppose." She grinned. "Suppose you are facing off three yoma, but there is one." She lifted up her left index finger. "Little bitty, teensy weensy thing that you want to do with the one you singled out. Say, try out a new technique, or even..." She popped her lips in thought. "Interrogating it without killing it. After all, you can't get information from a yoma that's dead for more than thirty seconds. You have to eat it within that timeframe."

She balanced herself on her throne and continued. "In other words, if you kill it first, you won't have the time to get _all _the information you needed, but if you saved it for last? Well. Hmhm." She chuckled darkly brushing a blonde strand away from her face. "A full course dinner is served, understand?"

He nodded hesitantly at his understanding of her poor metaphor. "To prevent from losing information, you have to put off killing it right away? I _think_ I get it." A metaphorical light bulb clicked. "But what about the first yoma I ate-." Several faces flashed by as his mind rapidly processed them. "Charles. I got information from him and it was over thirty seconds."

"It's the difference between a meal and an appetizer. You only got flashes of information, but not his entire life, actions, so on so forth. There's always a chance that you'll get enough information that you'll be okay to continue your search, but why risk it?"

She drummed the arm rests with her finger tips. "Open combat with yoma is much like what you've already learned from your former master, Matilda. Only, it's faster, harder, and more primal than with facing a mere human. You have to rely on instinct more often than when battling a human threat. If your instinct is poor, you will die."

"How good's my instinct."

"Not simply poor, but _extremely _poor." She lifted her chin to punctuate her statement. "It was only by God's Grace that you've made it this far. So keep praying." She rubbed her knees. "When you look at it from the numbers perspective, open combat with yoma should be an easy venture for you. You're fast enough, strong enough, perceptive enough to kill them openly. But instinct and hesitation are what hold you back."

"But Akem-."

"Don't even finish that sentence, Naruto. Akemi was a pussy yoma. Awakened beings would kick her ass to kingdom come. She was a nothing on your path, yet you tripped over her like she was a ten foot wall."

"But-!"

"But nothing!" Red leaned forward and growled, both eyes flashing yellow, then settling back to their natural colors. "Had you not hesitated the first time when she faked her humanity, you would have won!"

"The second time-."

"You didn't pursue your advantage. You weren't nearly ruthless enough, angry enough, or smart enough to continue pressing forward. She was a yoma Naruto, feel no guilt when you strike them down. Now get up." They both stood up simultaneously. "Watch me and repeat."

She drew her sword and held the tip perpendicular to her body. "In the realm of open combat, stealth action is no longer viable. Chances are good, you were found out and both you and the enemy have weapons drawn." She gestured with her weak hand. "This means, the advantage of surprise isn't on your side anymore. You have to end this and end this quickly."

"Always try for stealth first. If you can't get the yoma, or if you have to get something done as quickly as possible, or if they're grouped together, this may be your only feasible option. Get behind me." Naruto did so, and she made a snapping sound with her weak arm's finger.

A yoma formed tangibly, and faced them.

Why wasn't she attacking right away?

Realization struck him, as the yoma lowered itself in a predatory manner.

It was to simulate the fact they were on equal grounds. She gave it time to prepare itself!

Just as the thought flitted through his mind, the battle was already over. It was like Red had phased through time itself as her sword was already sheathed, and the yoma, halved.

She turned her head to the side, though her face was encased in darkness. "That took no youki on my part to do. For you, due to inefficiency..." Her head tilted to the side, and her chin returned forward. She rocked her head back and forth like a snake charmer. "You may need to use your youki. Now you try."

Snap.

Where was the-

Behind him!

He leapt out of the way, shoulder colliding with the ground before the rest of his body. He saw the yoma finally process him, and it held its hands parallel with the ground.

Naruto drew his sword, and rushed to his two feet. Continuing with inertia, Naruto held his blade parallel with the ground, right arm crossing his chest, and blade hanging over his left shoulder, nearly touching his ear.

Its fingers extended, causing Naruto to drop to his knees, and slide across the floor, knees scraping the hard marble. The blonde threw his upper torso back, and lifted his chin so as to avoid all contact with the fingers.

As his eyes flashed gold, it felt that time slowed down only slightly, even as the fingers continued their linear course forward. Naruto swung his sword, feeling resistance on the blade when he cut through the pinky.

Ring.

Middle. The yoma grunted as the appendages flew up wards.

Index. Naruto completely sliced through, even as his inertia continued his forward slide on his knees.

Speaking of knees.

The boy honed in on his next target, the creature's left knee.

His blade sung as it cut through on his return swipe, sending the monster toppling over, its balance quickly failing.

But before it even dared to fall back, Naruto's cold edged blade found the beast's crotch. Veins exploded to the surface of his face, as blood thrummed them to the point of near bursting.

He ripped his sword upwards, slicing the creature in two with minimal difficulty.

Naruto leaned forward, and shoved himself off of his knees, and onto his own two feet.

A tendril snaked its way out of his back, and began devouring the beast.

The sound of slow clapping caught his attention.

Red continued her seemingly sarcastic applause with a lop sided grin. "Not bad. Sloppy, and filthy, but I'll take it. Seems the minimal strikes you've used thus far in your stealth attacks, gave you some practice towards this end." She rolled her shoulders. "We'll iron out the kinks. Next!"

Another yoma popped up in front of him, and Naruto readied his blade. But when he saw it, he froze.

It felt like forever. He stood there for what felt like forever, at least.

His body shivered as he stared at the back of a yoma he'd recognize anywhere.

His teeth chattered as his cerulean eyes were distended to their maximum.

Akemi stood there, right in front of him, back to him. Nine feet tall and very muscular.

"**Ah." **Akemi turned around, footsteps causing the room to shake. **"Well if it isn't the miserable, mother fucker who saw fit to eat me in an unapproved manner." **She lifted her right hand, claws taking their rightful place as her massive body rushed forward towards his shuddering form. **"Scream."**

As his eyes widened further still, his fists clenched as every victim she ever tortured flashed in his face, pounding his consciousness, and torturing his soul.

Time after time. Body after body. Guts after guts.

His eyes hardened, as he stopped shaking.

"No."

No more.

It was time for retribution.

Shkling.

When he drew his sword, Akemi paused only for a moment at sight of his new defiance.

His body crackled with energy, and throbbed with blood, distending his features, even as gold flooded his eyes.

"I'll be tasting you twice." The floor exploded in rubble as he launched off of it, Akemi's eyes widened every second he grew closer. Every inch his blade drew closer.

The yoma crouched down and hopped upwards, narrowly missing a diagonal strike that would have taken out her left clavicle, and swiped through her right kidney. Instead, it sliced through the air, as he put all his body into the strike, missing her, and colliding with the ground instead, embedding halfway to the hilt. Naruto's body overshadowed his sword, as his torso hung over it.

Akemi clung to the ceiling, watching the new viciousness in her 'adopted son'.

Dust settled around Naruto as he slowly stood to his full height. "You don't want to die easy?"

"**Not particularly."** Elongated teeth peeked through her malevolent grin.

His chin lifted to stare at her straight in the face. "Suits me." He grinned as well, as he too crouched lower, and shot upwards.

Akemi dropped off the ceiling, somersaulting backwards in mid air and landing with ease on her feet.

"**You'll tire ****_son-."_**

Her eyes widened when she didn't see a sword stabbing where she was.

But ten, thirty-six inch long, steely claws.

They were the very definition of sharp. Naruto's arm musculature seemed to be comprised entirely of interweaving white tendrils no thinner than an inch in diameter. While it still seemed human in structure, they way they coiled and moved, spoke of something completely different.

The claws themselves were made of something different. The cutting edges of every talon was focused towards wherever his palm faced, the blades themselves curving slightly, like death's sickle.

Even the back of his hand had blades where the tendons of his fingers would otherwise have been. Akemi could tell by the gleam on the razors edge, that the talons were as hungry for her blood as their wielder.

On the other side of the room, Red watched the battle, eyes gleaming.

Those blades looked oh-so familiar. If he could awaken the tips of his fingers, like she could, and like Irene _tried,_ those wondrous claws could carry over onto the physical realm. As could any other weapon that he could dream up.

Red felt like she had to step training up, and soon.

"**Charles and I aren't the only one's you've eaten, I see."**

"Hmhmhm." The impossibly sharp tips dug into the ceiling's surface to keep him clinging to it. Insane golden eyes stared into Akemi.

He could only shape shift here.

_For now._

"Say hello to them."

He launched off the ceiling, arms stretched out wide, and claws stretched out wider. From tip to tip, he was wider, than he was tall.

Bwoom.

Rubble rocketed from the epicenter of the collision, sending the behemoth on her back.

Naruto stood tall, and walked forward slowly, apeishly, even as the back of his talons scratched across the ground, leaving gouges in the tile.

The icy scrape, caused Akemi to look up, left arm shielding herself from the light.

And the ensuing pain.

Drool dripped down in miniature rivers from the corners of his mouth. He lifted his arms up slowly, and was careful to curve his claws outwards, so as to not scrape his legs. "You've been introduced."

Akemi lifted her fingers up. **"Likewise."**

Her finger projectile pierced his eyeball, even as he penetrated her head with his claws.

He was still standing as he ripped her apart, animalistically clawing away at her, as feral tendrils shot out his back and wrapped around Akemi. Naruto threw his head back and roared, his howl reverberating through the room and leaving behind a faint echo as her body undulated from the tendril's beastly devouring.

When her finger was removed, the bloody hole in his eye socket reformed within seconds.

When his tendrils were finished, he slumped forward and stared at the empty, yet bloody ground beneath him. His claws retracted, melting into normal colored skin. And just like his heart's pain, Akemi disappeared. She no longer haunted him.

She was eliminated.

He began to laugh and felt warmth return to his chest as he whispered, "Thank you Jesus."

"Well that was boring." Red broke his thankful train of thought with her feigned derision. "I was expecting a little more action than just...that."

Naruto shrugged. "One down."

"Thousands to go." Red watched him, a grin in her eyes. "Do you even get what you did?"

"I shapeshifted."

"Not just that. You utilized youki. I mention that, because control of it is what you will learn, then facing off against groups." She gave a cocky wave. "Toodles!"

"Wha-?

Naruto stared at a canopy of trees looming above. Turning his head to the dwindling fire next to him, he rolled to an elbow and pushed himself up. Brushing himself off from clumps of dirt, his eyes scanned his belongings.

A pot hung over the embers via S-hooks, his sword was on the other side.

When he inhaled sharply, he couldn't help but enjoy the fragrance.

Fresh meat.

Blue eyes widened.

He _did_ smell this before. Ake- a yoma!

Turning his head to search the forestry, his stomach sank when he couldn't see any sort of aura.

Taking another couple sniffs, he almost leapt from his skin when he could 'feel' the general location of the yoma.

"Naturally." Right _fricken _behind him.

Naruto turned his head lazily over his shoulder as the yoma played with _his_ sword, swiping it twice with a forward slash, to and fro. The blonde turned a little more to face the yoma as it circled the fire, approaching him with a grin.

The beast was no less than seven feet, it's body bulging with muscles. The yoma's chest looked like three men wide, while his hips were no less than two men wide. In comparison, its legs seemed spindly, twiggish even.

It was...freakish.

As his eyes drifted across the camp, he realized he was unarmed, disoriented, and not nearly tall enough to brawl with it and win...probably.

He prayed under his breath as the yoma crept closer.

His eyes snapped to the pot over the fire.

And the S-hooks.

The yoma saw what he was staring at, then lunged towards Naruto, blade whirring.

The blonde teen grabbed the S-hooks by the top link, lifted it off the twig holding it up, and hopped backwards. The yoma tensed at his 'victim's' weapon.

Naruto whipped the pot and hooks from his sides, the steel barely visible as a black blur. His muscles tensed as he fought control against it's weight being slung around like a metallic whip.

When the creature made a move towards him, Naruto whipped the pot at the head of the creature.

He grinned upon hearing the resounding clang of connecting the cast iron with the beast's mandible. It staggered as the pot flew to the side, having unhooked at the point of impact.

The blonde semi-human readjusted the hooks in his both hands while the beast was recovering, but wasn't fast enough to approach and finish off the monster.

Naruto grunted when the yoma stood up and readied the blade, ducking slightly, and keeping the tip of the blade parallel with its hips and facing backwards.

"Wish I could eat you. You look like you know what you're doing."

The yoma snarled in defiance, grip tightening on the sword. "I'm _gonna_ eat you!"

"Hmm." Naruto rolled his shoulders, warming the steel in his hands. "You can try, I guess."

Taking him up on the offer, the yoma rushed him. But Naruto was ready.

Lifting up the hook in his left hand, he caught the yoma's sword slash. The creature's eyes widened, and it screamed as Naruto's right hook pierced the crook of its elbow, causing it to drop the sword. In an attempt to keep it off balance, the blonde pulled it forward.

It collapsed to its knees, holding onto the crook of its arm, following the hook like a baited fish. But better yet, he just brought the yoma down to his level.

When it finally was smart enough to bite down, bear it, and retaliate, it was too late for the yoma. Naruto's left hook already found a place in its left temple. Within a second, the blonde crossed his right arm over his left, and slammed it into its right temple, crossing his arms.

He then lifted a foot to its chest, then the other, then pressed his heels until he leapt off of it, tearing the thick forehead bone off entirely. Expiating it from the world before his back even hit the ground.

Naruto dropped the S-hooks, his hands still shaking from the adrenaline rush. Taking deep breaths, he brushed his clothes smooth and checked the environment around him and the demon's twitching corpse.

All clear.

Packing up his belongings, and strapping his reclaimed his sword at his side, he decided to leave its body for the scavengers.

He walked through the forest, to the road nearby. When he broke the tree line, hot beams of sun beat down on him, the star hanging almost directly above him.

Not sensing anyone in the distant path either before or after him, he tightened his backpack straps, and blasted off the ground.

The surroundings blurred into a greasy green as he shot down the path, faster than even the best of horses. His muscles propelled him further and further as his lungs devoured the air around him.

He arrived within hours, what would have normally taken days. When the small town was visible in the distance, he slowed his pace to a slow gallop until he crossed the gate's threshold.

No visible yoma. But quite a few artist renditions of missing people and children.

He sniffed deeply.

Where were they, if they did not have a presence here?

The streets were near empty, only a few brave owners of market stalls risked their very lives hawking their goods. But even then, they were visibly paranoid of a newcomer.

He paused in his step before them. "You." He pointed to a scrawny potter, and extended his neck.

Grey and grease slicked her hair back, and dried clay cracked on her cheeks. Her brown apron was stained from water and grime. "Yeah."

He sighed in relief. Someone with fight in them. "What's your name?"

"Liz. You?"

"Naruto." He crossed his arms and ducked his head lightly. "What's happening here?"

"Newcomer?" Her eyes narrowed with suspicion for only a moment, before relaxing. "Kidnapping."

"By who?" Who would have the balls to kidnap children?

She shrugged. "If we knew, we'd kill them. Chief's hired a-"

He interrupted her. Obviously, if he hired a claymore they were sure taking their time. "If you had to guess?"

"Yoma."

Naruto roughly rubbed his face before settling his hand over his mouth.

That didn't narrow down things. "Any days in particular?"

"Every Tuesday night. We post volunteer sentries, but they're too good. Everyone's on high alert, but no one can stop them." She flicked her apron to air it out of the steamy air. "Or it. We don't know yet."

He sighed and thought for a moment before asking. "Where's the highest point of town?"

Tuesday was tonight.

She tilted her head to the side. "The church spire."

Naruto turned around and used his hands to resettle the hem around his neck. He turned his head over his shoulder. "If they're still alive, I'll return them as is."

"And if they ain't?"

The inquiry stopped Naruto in his tracks. He lifted his head up to the blue sky. "I'll slaughter them."

* * *

"You feel the rage?"

Naruto's jaw tensed as he sat in a lotus position in front of Red. "Yeah?"

"What's it feel like?"

"Evil. My skin prickles and burns." He opened his eyes, revealing gold. "I want to tear something apart with my hands. I feel like growling, biting and anything else I'd attribute to an animal." He frowned as distended veins crawled down his neck and rippled his face. "I don't like it."

Red smirked. "Excellent. That's yoki. Normally, we feel pain and pleasure to match, you actually can feel it from an outsiders view. It just takes a lot of focus to distinguish it."

"How do I control it?"

"Peace."

He quirked open an eye. "Peace?"

She nodded. "A rampant peace that exceeds the rage. While the rage may simmer, it ultimately fails against unfathomable peace. It doesn't even warm the water."

He closed his eyes and exhaled soothingly, mouth slightly open. "Okay. Think I got it."

"Good. Now, remember that you can compress all of it into certain parts of your body. I mastered it to the point I could send yoki to my nails and my fingertips." Red flicked a blonde lock over her shoulder with an airy gesture. "I could tear right through the flesh of a yoma with minimal effort. I got to the point I could have physical manifestations of yoki that would literally subsume a creature."

Naruto grinned, eyes still closed.

"But try to maintain that peace when you walk in on a child getting raped by a human and you can't so much as touch them." Red hissed coldly.

The blonde's eyes snapped open in shock as a shiver rolled up and down his spine.

It was night.

His focus flickered across the town as he staked it out from the rooftop of the church dedicated to some god he didn't know.

What would he have done in Red's proposed position. What if these were humans doing the kidnapping? What if they were harming the children?

If it was a yoma, the answer was simple. Kill them. That's it. But humans...weren't they sacred?

He rose to his feet and stepped towards the peak of the roof, and balanced on the covering tile.

What would God do at that point in time? He heard that Jesus especially loved the children of the world, what would He do?

Before he could finish the thought, he saw a flicker of red entering the gates, blasting past the guards without them even knowing it.

His sharp blue eyes tracked the creature, then switched to the mirror on his left wrist.

Eyes were golden, framed by veins.

He turned the mirror to see his frame.

Normal. _Perfect. _

Closing his eyes, he forced the energy into his feet, heels, legs and spine.

When he opened his eyes, he stepped closer to the edge of the roof and gazed upon the world below him.

He had to hurry and he hadn't the time to walk down.

He took a step closer to the edge of the roof.

A child would be kidnapped and brought where the other children were if he didn't catch this creature.

He stepped on empty air as his body lost its balance as he fell forward.

It was time to reclaim his body's control. If even just a portion.

Naruto closed his eyes as he held his hands out and at the side as the ground rapidly came to him, the wind from his freefall exploding against his feet and ripping past his body.

As his feet collided with the ground, he felt the ground buckle against him.

He opened his eyes before the dust settled, before the shockwave fizzled out, and even before chunks of stone and pavers fell to the ground.

Bwoof!

He nearly disappeared with the speed he was pushing himself with.

More yoki flooded his body, hardening his flesh, especially his head, neck, left arm and torso.

He roared as he crashed through a house's bricks, shattering the wall and pile driving through the other side.

His pace was hardly slowed as he propelled himself even further, and within the same second, collided with another home. He tackled through the other side of the house and found him mere feet away from the yoma.

Naruto growled as his eyes widened, his eyelids tightening around his eyeballs.

He held out his hand to the yoma that was shocked by his presence.

And then grabbed it by the neck.

Even when Naruto stopped his body from running further, even with the creature that weighed well over three hundred pounds in his hard grip, he still had to maintain his balance as he slid ten feet.

Until the wall to a stick frame house stopped him, as he used the creature as a shield against further damage.

The yoma gurgled under his grip, shocked at this turn of events.

"It'd take too long to ask, and I don't trust your words." He tightened his grip even further, cutting off its oxygen supply completely. "Eat!" He lifted his head and bellowed.

The yoma's eyes widened, not sure of what he meant.

Until Naruto's body almost erupted in tendrils bent on gnawing on him.

It took fewer than two seconds for it to be fully consumed, Naruto already flipping through its memories.

He slowly turned his head towards the gate, eyes half lidded.

Mountain range.

Bwoof!

Leaves fluttered behind him.

* * *

"**I can't wait to play with the next one."**

"**Can't you just enjoy the act of eating?"**

"**No. It's like a fine wine. The aroma is as enticing as their full body's flavor. Their appearance as essential as the presentation and the flavor thereof."**

"**You're a monster." **The creature chuckled lightly at giving such a compliment to its demonic brethren.

"**I know, right?" **Its black eyes shifted to the ravine's path leading to them. Ah. Azazel arrived finally.

"**Back already?"**

"**Where's the kid?"**

Shling!

As it processed the drawing of the sword, the 'yoma's' face shifted to that of an exceedingly angry, blonde human. Lifting its hands to grasp the blade, it cut through like a hot knife through butter before slicing the yoma's head in two.

The other yoma finally reacted.

But so did Naruto.

The blonde spun under the sword still embedded into the demon's forehead, his shoulder laying just under the handle as his grip on the sword tightened.

By the time the yoma took the first step, Naruto already used his right shoulder as a fulcrum to rip the sword out and fling it in its direction, puncturing through the yoma's chest. The hand guard the only thing stopping it from going completely through the exploded chest of the creature.

While it was still gurgling, drowning in its own cursed fluids, Naruto stood over it, body thrumming an icy, whitish glow.

His fists were clenched, even until they found their target. The yoma's face.

The jaw flung off in one direction rustling branches, and Naruto grappled its left shoulder. He grinned as he heard the sizzling flesh, knowing that the yoma _would_ scream if it could. Not that it actually was _capable._

Another hard right, and Naruto's fist made a cavern out of its forehead.

"You already ate." He barked at his tendril trying once more for a nibble.

Tearing the sword out, he flicked the blood off, and made his way into a dank looking cave, avoiding a row of stalactites on his way in. His eyes scanned the tunnels and he narrowed the presence of the yoma.

Naruto trod down the path with a purpose.

He only saw one human aura.

His guttural growl caught the attention of the yoma was directly in front of him.

Too late, as it was bisected from head to crotch, spraying the teen in its sickening, purple fluid.

Before the flesh could even touch the ground, Naruto continued down the path.

He stood right before the chamber with the child in it. A massive boulder stood between him and rescuing this poor soul, and he could sense a yoma coming to his right.

He growled as he tackled the boulder with his chest, discovering that its width was about the same as his him from outstretched palm to outstretched palm.

The yoma rounded the corner, and as it did, it saw a blonde human, lifting, _lifting _the boulder that took _all_ of them to _push_ into place.

The next second, it saw the stone headed its way as it bounced and cracked against the stone walls of the cave, shaking the room from its heavy weight. The third second, it was splattered against the wall behind it, limbs taking flight in separate directions from the crushed body.

Only the bloodied stone marked its previous existence.

Naruto's gaze flickered back to the room. His mouth dropped, as his eyes almost flooded with tears.

A small child. A twelve year old. Maybe. Maybe not even _that_ old, was seated, hugging their knees and burying their face in between them.

All around them, were the corpses of twenty children, utterly torn apart and devoured.

"**What's going on!?"** A yoma walked at the center of the threshold, at just the wrong time.

Naruto upturned his right hand, a hand-ball sized ball of white flame forming in it.

The yoma wasn't sure what was going on, but regretted questioning the fact when the blonde pressed the ball to the yoma's mouth.

Flesh fizzled away with minimal resistance, and Naruto continued pushing until there was only a headless body.

Naruto worked his jaw, then turned and knelt before the single child spared.

Brown eyes returned his stare, black hair hiding her expression.

Heart moved, he pressed a hand to the cheek of the small girl. She looked dirty. "Are you okay?"

The girl ducked her head and nodded quickly.

Naruto grimaced when his eyes picked up on the slaughtered children around him. "Let's get out of here, okay?" He knelt down and ushered her towards him. He wrapped her in an embrace, and scanned the world around him. He lifted her up, and her legs wrapped around his waist as her arms wrapped around his chest. "There's one left, don't be afraid of it, okay?"

He felt her chin rest on his left shoulder.

Drawing his sword, he asked her. "What's your name, sweetheart?"

She didn't answer.

How many years would it take for this child to recover?

Before Naruto went through the threshold, he stabbed the wall, and ripped the sword back out, replacing it in his sheathe.

He stepped over a body pressed to the wall he pierced. That was the last one.

When Naruto reached the mouth of the cave, he said to the girl. "We're a good ten miles from your home, so it'll take a few minutes to get there." He felt her grip tighter. "Good. Hold on a little tighter and I'll do my best to keep you as well."

He smiled when she listened. He almost didn't feel the yoki flood his legs.

Peace. Maybe this feeling was close to it.

* * *

By the time they arrived, the poor girl's fingers were locked around his shoulder in a white knuckled grip. It was about dusk.

"You're home." She didn't let go. "Where are your parents?"

No response.

"Are they dead?" His eyes widened as he pulled her gently from his chest. Her soft breathing told him she was asleep.

Oh.

He snorted as he walked through the town, girl clinging to his chest. His lips pursed when he saw the wake of damage he left behind being patched by groups of masons. He really hoped he didn't have to pay for it. But he couldn't have caught the yoma in any other way save a straight line.

Right?

Every eye turned towards him, as if saying "wrong".

He sheepishly scratched behind his head.

The potter he met earlier jerked a thumb in his direction while she was talking to what he presumed to be the town head.

Then she looked twice. "Rachel?"

The child in his arms twitched.

"Rachel!" The woman was desperate, tears flooded her eyes as she shamelessly ran towards them forgoing all manner in order to embrace her daughter. "Rachel!" She snatched the girl out of his hands and buried her face into the little girl's shoulder. While she was crying tears of joy, Naruto was at a loss at what to do, having no idea how to comfort someone.

The potter gazed thankfully towards Naruto, "I had given up all hope. I thought she was dead for sure!"

Naruto's head ducked as his eyes grew distant. "She was the only one."

"Onl-." She stopped mid word.

"She was surrounded by their, um." He bit his lip. "You know. They're in the mountain pass in a cave. There are two dead yoma on the outside, you can't miss it. Don't let the other parents see." He left without another word, heading off to another town.

"What's your name?" She felt guilty for not remembering the name of a man who saved her baby's life.

He waved a hand over his shoulder and acted like he didn't hear her.

"Here son."

Naruto jumped when he felt a hand touch his shoulder. The town head held out a bag of a few beras.

Taking it gratefully, he gave a single nod and trod towards a path towards the next town.

0o0

"You materialized yoki already. What's the problem?" Red asked with a hint of annoyance.

"It's...different. It doesn't feel right."

"Try this." She smacked his forehead with a hard palm, causing a loud smack to emanate in the room.

"What-."

"Focus your yoki to that area."

When he did, or at least tried, he saw Red smile. "Well. Isn't that something."

She saw the formerly reddish spot switch to a pale skin color, but small, noodle sized tendrils inter-wrapped and locked like a swirling eddie of flesh.

Obviously hit by an idea, Naruto closed his eyes.

An axe head lifted from his forehead.

"Congratulations Naruto. Excellent."

When he quirked an eye open, her grin was most serene. "What?"

"You can now awaken parts of your body."

"And shape shift?"

She grinned.

So did he.

0o0

When Naruto stepped out of the blacksmith's shop, he popped his head from side to side and hopped on his toes a little.

They clanged slightly, from the new metal armor boots he was wearing. Under his gray tunic, he wore a white cotton T-shirt, with a trapezoidal plate of steel covering the left side of his chest. Leather strapping wrapped over his shoulders and under his latissimus to lock onto another plate protecting where his yoma flesh was.

On his left hand, he had an hourglass gauntlet, and on his forearm, a small bracer on the outside of it.

All in all, while it added a few pounds, it protected his vitals and gave him an option to block.

He didn't know if he'd keep the armor on his left hand and forearm, he could always regen, but he'd definitely be keeping the armor on his chest, back and boots. The boots were more for the imposing value, than out of necessity so if they got lost, damaged or otherwise useless, he'd trash his little pet project.

Heading towards the pub for some dinner and a drink, he propped open the door, and headed to a table. Maybe he could hear some useful gossip from other towns.

His grin went cockeyed when he heard the clanking from his boots. Worth every bera.

Climbing on a stool at a table, he leaned over, clasped his hands and rested his chin. He sat for a couple hours just eating and drinking before his next trip. Occasionally he heard amusing drinking stories, he heard a lot of whining about bosses, and even fewer positive things. But his ears perked at a hushed conversation nearby.

"The brat fits all the descriptions from the survivors. And they were all picked clean save a handful. It's like what happens when someone doesn't pay the org. We have to leave before the wave comes _here!"_

Merchant. As evident by the swaddled cloak and hood.

The other man waved him off. "That's a lie. They mustn't have paid a claymore, or perhaps it was a random wave."

"I was there dammit! One week they're there, the next it's overrun by yoma." The beefy man hissed like an angry viper.

"They got rid of the program. They only have females in employ, it's a well known fact." Disbelieving. Logical. Mark of the local librarian.

"But the same, well, similar descriptions? The same towns burnt to the ground? That's more than coincidence."

"Where are these towns?" Naruto asked as he sipped at his root beer. Maybe it was a yoma or maybe even an awakened being. Maybe he could test his mett-.

"Like you don't know you piece of _shit!"_

The blonde reared his head back at the insult. _"Excuse_ me?"

"Damn _monster."_ The big man spat right in his face and walked out of the pub.

Naruto touched his cheek, disbelieving the sticky spittle was on his face. When his fingertips touched wet, his feet found the floor and his hand on his sword.

That prick would be getting an -.

He felt a hand on his shoulder by the librarian and when he turned to glare at him with silver eyes, the man gasped.

"You _are_ a claymore!" The man looked around panicked, and nearly vibrated in fear. "He was right-."

"Right about _what?_"

"You flattened all those towns? You ordered yoma to attack!"

Every eye in the bar looked upon the two.

Naruto however, was shocked. "What?" His eyes widened, then narrowed. He growled and grappled him by the collar and pulled him down to his level. He then dragged the man to a wall and pushed him up against it. "What the hell are you talking about?"

This man had better be joshin', or so help him-.

Upon seeing the genuine fear in Naruto's eyes, the librarian looked on him in pity, and waved his hands at the misunderstanding, realizing that he didn't have anything to do with it. The blonde loosened his grip, allowing the man to speak. "Sacrionne was the first hit." A pit fell in Naruto's stomach. "Then Dubrovnik. Then Obidos."

His face slackened in utter panic. Rachel-.

Water rimmed his eyes. "Hit by what?!"

When there was a pause, he repeated his inquiry. "Hit. By. What?"

"There's noth-."

"Like _fuck _thereisn't! Now what hit them?" The fire in his eyes would subsume all who gazed upon them.

"Over a dozen yoma and a voracious eater, there's no-."

Naruto bumped past him, and left the pub, insults forgotten, and a cacophony of emotions roiling in his soul.

He grabbed the sides of his head and paced out in the street with rushed step, pausing occasionally. He growled and whipped his head from side to side, spittle flying like he was a raging bull.

He stomped the gravel and growled. Turning to where he came from, he paused and growled lower, hunching forward.

He battled for his sanity as he flooded his system with yoki.

The next second, he blasted down the road, a mission strengthening him.

And he was hungry.


End file.
